Asia Bibi’s husband pleads for asylum

Request by Masih came a day after he criticised a government deal with hardline Islamists that left her in legal limbo

The husband of a Pakistani Christian woman at the centre of a divisive blasphemy case has pleaded for international help to leave the country, saying he feared for his family’s safety.

The request by Asia Bibi’s husband Ashiq Masih came a day after he criticised a government deal with hardline Islamists that left her in legal limbo, and called on authorities to protect her.

Bibi — who had been on death row since 2010 on blasphemy charges — was acquitted by the Supreme Court last Wednesday, triggering large street protests by ultra-conservative Islamists who paralysed Pakistan for three days, blocking roads and disrupting traffic.

The government reached a deal on Friday to end the protests by agreeing to a travel ban preventing Bibi from leaving the country, and saying it would not object to hardline movements appealing the verdict. An appeal has now been filed with the court against Bibi’s release.

Masih criticised the government deal, saying it was “wrong”. “I request President Donald Trump to help us to leave [the country], and I request the prime minister of the UK to do their level best to help us, to grant us freedom,” said Masih, in a video message, also requesting help from the Canadian prime minister.

Wilson Chowdhry, of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told AFP that the family was resting its hopes on the US, Britain or Canada to grant them asylum. “These nations have the largest Pakistani Christian communities,” Chowdhry said, added that Masih also wants asylum for some members of the extended family and those who have helped with his wife’s case, one of whom could speak English.

“If Asia Bibi leaves the country, every family member, every person associated to her, will be killed,” he said.

Chowdhry said the family’s initial relief at Bibi’s acquittal has turned into anguish. “The daughters are weeping. They still haven’t seen their mother. The family is totally shattered,” he said.

Bibi was acquitted by the Supreme Court, triggering large street protests by ultraconservative Islamists.