Holland recalls embassy staff after threats

islamabad — Holland recalled staff from its embassy in Pakistan following threats after providing shelter to the lawyer of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday.

Hardliners in Pakistan blocked streets and called for the killing of judges after the Supreme Court on October 31 overturned the conviction of Asia Bibi, a mother of five, who had been on death row for eight years.

“Unfortunately threats have been made against the Netherlands, Dutch diplomats,” Foreign Minister Stef Blok told national NPO radio. “I discussed the issue with my Pakistani colleague.”

The embassy briefly closed earlier on Monday and “a large number of staff” returned to the Netherlands, Blok said.

Bibi’s lawyer Saiful Mulook fled to the Netherlands soon after the verdict, citing death threats. The Dutch government said on Thursday that it had offered him temporary shelter.

On Friday, the Dutch government said its embassy in Pakistan, which is in a tightly guarded diplomatic enclave, had temporarily halted issuing visas “due to circumstances beyond our control”. Pakistani media reported that the embassy had been forced to close because of threats. But the Dutch Foreign Ministry said reports of the embassy’s closure were mistaken.

No one answered the telephone at the Dutch embassy after office hours on Monday. —