Christian woman spared the death penalty after her blasphemy conviction was overturned faces being barred from leaving Pakistan under a deal struck to appease hardliners.
Pakistan’s government on Friday night said it had reached an agreement with Islamist parties to end three days of protests which have paralysed the country after Asia Bibi was freed.
The deal included a government concession to begin court proceedings to put Mrs Bibi on the country’s no-fly list.
Pakistan’s government told the BBC it would be up to the court to decide, but the sop to extremists is likely to anger rights groups and Western countries who have been pushing for her freedom.
A ban would dash her hopes of leaving the country and starting a new life abroad after she spent nearly eight years on death row when falsely accused of defaming the Prophet Mohammed.
Tensions were raised further on Friday night when a senior cleric known as the father of the Taliban for his role teaching many militant leaders was stabbed to death in his own home. Maulana Samiul Haq, also known as the “father of the Taliban,” was found dead in his bedroom in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The British Pakistani Christian Association report tonight that
The situation is untenable for Asia Bibi’s family to remain in Pakistan and in order to secure her safety her family and the family of her guardian Joseph Nadeem must be urgently evacuated from their homeland, with immediate effect, as the increasingly unstable environment rises.
Some opinions have been expressed that these groups are taking this opportunity to enact violence against each other so they can establish political dominance. Lawlessness is apparent in cities and towns across Pakistan, with men, women and children openly stealing from food vendors, smashing vehicles and property, while also attacking innocent people.
The Citizen Go petition organisation received this message earlier today
“I apologize for the late reply. It is due to the bad situation in which we are finding ourselves. I beg you to do something urgently so that we can flee to Spain. By urgent I mean in a day or two. If at all possible, please help.”
Both Citizen Go and the BPCA (who I have met and trust) have funds set up for donations to gather enough money to pay not just for flights and a home in Spain but for the very basic requirement for Mrs Bibi of a valid up to date passport. Spain has offered asylum. Like France which has also offered asylum Spain is a Catholic country; there is a growing number of Muslims resident, but unlike France and the UK they seem better disciplined and I suspect less likely to start their own riots or murder attempts. Certainly the large number of Muslim Pakistanis in England would present a danger of their own.
- Like
- Digg
- Del
- Tumblr
- VKontakte
- Buffer
- Love This
- Odnoklassniki
- Meneame
- Blogger
- Amazon
- Yahoo Mail
- Gmail
- AOL
- Newsvine
- HackerNews
- Evernote
- MySpace
- Mail.ru
- Viadeo
- Line
- Comments
- Yummly
- SMS
- Viber
- Telegram
- Subscribe
- Skype
- Facebook Messenger
- Kakao
- LiveJournal
- Yammer
- Edgar
- Fintel
- Mix
- Instapaper
- Copy Link
One Response
So *Spain* has offered her asylum? That is good to hear. I do hope that MUCH pressure is being applied, behind the scenes, by such as the USA, to bring about her deliverance – and that of her family and her guardian – from Pakistan.