The fate of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy was in limbo Saturday after the government allowed religious parties to appeal against her acquittal and put her on a no-fly list.
Asia Bibi’s lawyer who saved her from the gallows left the country early Saturday after threats to his life.
Bibi, who had been on death row since 2010, was acquitted of all charges by Supreme Court on Wednesday, triggering protests by religious parties who paralysed the country for three days blocking roads and disrupting traffic in major cities. The protests, however, ended Friday night after the government reached a deal to put Bibi on the no-fly list, saying it would also not object to an appeal against the verdict, which was filed earlier in the Supreme Court.
“We have requested the Supreme Court to put Asia Bibi on the exit control list as soon as possible so that she could not fly out of the country,” Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, the lawyer of Qari Salam who filed the case against Bibi, said. “We fear that she would be flown out of the country so we have requested the court for an early hearing of the case,” he said, adding that he would ‘exploit all legal remedies to make sure Asia Bibi is hanged according to the law’.
Meanwhile life in the major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad returned to normalcy as shops opened and traffic resumed after the protesters dispersed Friday night. The Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), which has largely led the demonstrations, announced an end to the mass protests after reaching a deal with the government.
Published in Daily Times, November 4th 2018.
