Table of Contents
WHO IS ASIA BIBI?
Asia Bibi is a 47-year-old farm labourer and mother of five from the Punjab Province. On June 14, 2009, Asia is alleged to have made some “sarcastic and defamatory remarks” against Prophet Muhammad during an argument with three Muslim women. The three women had allegedly refused to drink water from a container that had been used by a Christian. A few days later, a mob accused her of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, and that led to her initial conviction.
THE DEATH SENTENCE
A trial court sentenced Asia to death in November 2010, under section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code. The offence carries a mandatory death sentence. The Lahore High Court upheld the verdict in October 2014.
ASSASSINATIONS
In 2011, Punjab governor Salman Taseer voiced his support for Asia and spoke up against the blasphemy law. Taseer was assassinated by his guard Mumtaz Qadri for his comments. Qadri was convicted and executed in 2016. but later was hailed as a martyr by religious hardliners, and millions visited a shrine set up for him near Islamabad. Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minister for minorities, was also killed in 2011 after seeking justice for Asia.
SUPREME COURT ENTERS
Overturning the trial court and the Lahore High Court verdicts, the Chief Justice of Pakistan said,” Tolerance is the basic principle of Islam.” However, the judgment invited sharp reactions from Pakistan hardliners, with the Chief Justice also receiving death threats.
OBSERVATIONS
Protesters demanded that Asia be publicly executed. Security forces moved quickly, deploying outside churches to protect minority Christians and urging demonstrators to disperse peacefully.
PROTESTS SPREAD ACROSS PAKISTAN
Rightwing religious organisations, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), founded by UNdesignated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, and the Jamaat-Ulema-e-Islam, announced that they would join the protest
WHAT NOW?
Asia Bibi is expected to leave the country as she has been offered asylum by several countries. Her husband Ashiq Masih and their two daughters, eagerly await her in London. The ruling, which was welcomed by human rights advocates, was strongly condemned by radical Islamist parties who blocked roads in major cities of the country immediately after the acquittal.
CAN’T LEAVE THE COUNTRY SO EASILY
Pakistan’s government has been accused of signing the “death warrant” of Asia Bibi after it said it would begin the process of preventing her leaving the country. The government and Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) reached a five-point agreement According to the agreement, “legal process will be initiated” to put Bibi’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) that mentions all those individuals who are prohibited from leaving Pakistan.
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