Asia Bibi's family in hiding after death threats, no immediate Presidential pardon and no repeal of the blasphemy law as protests held against her

Asia Bibi's lawyer has filed an appeal to the Lahore High Court against her death sentence for blasphemy.³ 

She had been visited in prison by Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who has appealed to the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari for clemency.²

A report by minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who is a Christian, recommending Bibi be pardoned and immediately freed,³ has also been submitted to the Zardari.²

The report, which was commissioned by Zardari, "concluded that the blasphemy case against Asia Bibi has been registered on grounds of personal enmity."²

Zardari has however decided not to immediately pardon her and has instead decided to wait and see her legal appeal process.³  He indicated that he may grant a pardon, a risky move given that his party's reliance on support of Islamists in parliament, if the appeal process takes too long.³

Nazir S. Bhatti, head of Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) told AsiaNews.it earlier when news of Aisa sentence emerged that⁴

“According to the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president of Pakistan or the interior minister have the power to withdraw any case,”⁴

“There are examples of cases of terrorism withdrawn by the government of Pakistan. Why then the Pakistani administration is silent on Asia Bibi’s sentence?”⁴

“In Pakistan, some 2.8 million Christians are treated as second class citizens, whilst Islamic government feel no shame to release Muslim criminals and terrorists,”⁴

Pope Benedict XVI last week called for Bibi's release^2,3 saying her case highlights the persecution of Pakistani Christians³ who were "often victims of violence and discrimination."²

Meanwhile protests has been held against any pardon for Bibi and she has been provided with security in prison⁷ while her family has gone into hiding after death threats.²

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, who works in a brick factory in the Shekhupura district near Lahore said¹

"We are frightened. We are receiving threats, especially from clerics. They started demonstrations in the area,"¹

"Yesterday there was a protest in Shekhupura. They said they will not leave Asia Bibi alive if she is pardoned."¹

In the city of Multan Tariq Naeemullah, a leader of Citizen Front of Multan said during a protest, “We will resist if the government moves against the court verdict and attempts to amend the blasphemy law.”³

In the city of Lahore, Qari Yaqub, chief coordinator for a subsidiary of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) - a banned charity blacklisted by the UN as terror linked - lead a protest against Bibi.⁵

A nationally known mufti Muneer Ur Rehman, a leading cleric in Lahore, Hafiz Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer,⁶ and head of the Sunni Ittehad Council, Sahibzada Fazal Kareem⁵ also voiced opposition to any pardon for Bibi.

In Karachi, dozens of Christians have held their own protests against the law.³

Nasir Saeed from the UK office of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), which provides free legal support to Pakistan’s Christians said that such laws⁵

“foster an attitude of superiority among the majority-Muslim population, that it is somehow ok to mistreat Christians.”⁵

The Manifesto of President Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party calls for the repeal of the blasphemy law but they lack the numbers in parliament to carry it out.⁶

Shahbaz Bhatti has therefore called instead for changes to the law instead, including making false accusations a crime, abolishing the death penalty and requiring higher courts to hear such cases at the start.³

Sources: 1. 2. AFP, 3. AP, 4. AsiaNews.it 5. Christian Today, 6. CNN, 7. Reuters


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