Frightened Asia still stuck in Pakistan
islamabad — A Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan has been transferred from a secret location near the capital to another in Karachi, but is still unable to leave the country to join her daughters in Canada, a friend said on Saturday.
Aman Ullah, who spoke to Asia Bibi by telephone on Friday, said the 54-year-old Bibi is being held in a room in the southern port city. He said Bibi, who faces death threats by radicals, is frustrated and frightened, uncertain of when she will be able to leave Pakistan.
“She has no indication of when she will leave ... they are not telling her why she cannot leave,” said Aman, who fled the country on Friday after receiving threats from extremists angered by his assistance to Bibi, which began while she was on death row.
Aman has been a liaison between Bibi and European diplomats, who have sought to assist her. The Associated Press spoke to Bibi by telephone with Aman’s assistance following her October acquittal, which was upheld last month.
Bibi’s ordeal began in 2009 when two fellow farmworkers refused to drink from the same container as a Christian woman. There was a quarrel and the two Muslim women later accused Bibi of blasphemy.
The Supreme Court judges said there were widespread inconsistencies in the testimony against Bibi, who has steadfastly maintained her innocence. —
lahore — Pakistani authorities detained a rights activist who led a protest and a journalist who allegedly criticised state agencies on social media, officials said on Saturday.
Police officer Abdur Rauf said Dr Ammar Ali Jan, a college professor, was arrested early on Saturday after he led a protest by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement. The organisation campaigns against perceived high-handedness by security forces against the Pashtun community. Dozens of other PTM supporters were arrested during the week but later freed. Last week, a PTM activist died in a clash with police in the town of Loralai in Balochistan during a sit-in.
Amnesty International condemned Jan’s arrest, saying Pakistan must stop using heavy-handed methods to intimidate peaceful protesters.
Also on Saturday, members of the Federal Investigation Agency arrested journalist Rizwan-ur-Rehman Razi at his Lahore residence, according to Razi’s son, Osama.
He said that armed men in plain clothes had been roaming outside their residence and they called his father outside. After an argument, they dumped him in a car and took him away, Osama said. Later in the day, the FIA confirmed Razi’s arrest on a charge of violating the country’s cybercrime law.
An FIA official said Razi was booked for tweeting against state agencies, despite being warned and having submitted an apology in the past.
Arshad Ansari, president of Lahore Press Club, condemned the incident and demanded Razi’s safe return.
Journalists and press freedom advocates say the military and its Inter-Services Intelligence agency are pressuring media outlets to quash critical coverage. —