Fury as blasphemy woman cleared
Protests broke out across Pakistan yesterday after a Christian woman who had been held on death row since 2010 on blasphemy charges was acquitted by the Supreme Court.
Asia Bibi, 47, a mother of four, was due to be released within hours after the court quashed her death sentence, prompting jubilation among supporters. One of her daughters said: ‘‘I want to hug my mother. I am grateful to God for listening to our prayers.’’
Conservatives were outraged, with some Islamists calling for the three judges to be murdered and the government to be overthrown.
The verdict presents difficulties for Imran Khan, the prime minister, who was a vocal supporter of the draconian blasphemy laws during his election campaign this summer, tacking hard to the right to secure conservative votes. Opponents accused him of cynical opportunism and of provoking bloodshed.
Since taking office, Khan has entrenched his stance, recently withdrawing a bill that would have imposed tough sentences for those who made false blasphemy allegations. Blasphemy is considered so serious that parents have been known to murder their children for being accused of the crime. Activists say the law is open to abuse, with allegations used to settle scores and persecute minorities. Khan appealed for calm, calling protesters ‘‘enemies of the country’’.
Bibi has been held under tight security at a jail in Multan and plans for her release remain secret. Life as a free woman in Pakistan would be impossible and her husband and four children are in protective custody as negotiations continue to grant the family asylum in an unnamed country.
She was arrested in 2009 after Muslim neighbours accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in an argument over whether women of different faiths could share a cup of water. She was sentenced to death the following year in a case that provoked uproar.
The governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, who called for her to be pardoned and for the blasphemy laws to be reformed, was assassinated in 2011 by his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri. Qadri was hanged for the murder in 2016 but remains a hero to conservatives.
Yesterday’s hearing was Ms Bibi’s final appeal against execution and the build-up gripped and divided Pakistan. –