Asia Bibi's final appeal against blasphemy to be heard in Pakistan Supreme Court
NB: Utter barbarism has been unleashed in both Pakistan and India in the name of religion. It was bad enough before, it is getting worse by the day. Today even to speak of peace, justice to all, and compassion for the weak, is enough to get us abused for 'blasphemy', anti-nationalism, etc. Those of us who have not yet sacrificed our consciences at the altar of nation-worship and communal demagoguery should speak loudly and clearly in defence not only of Aasia Bibi, but of all those who are being targeted for belonging to a 'minority' or for speaking their minds - DS
LAHORE: The Supreme
Court is due to hear the final appeal against the execution of Asia Bibi,
accused for blasphemy, on Thursday. Some insist it is not
just a fight for one life, but a battle for the nation's soul as the state
walks a razor-sharp line between upholding human rights and appeasing populist
hardliners. This will be the final
appeal for Asia Bibi, some six years after she was sentenced to death, accused
of insulting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during an argument with a Muslim woman
over a bowl of water.
“There is no question
that what is at stake is the very soul of the state and Pakistan society: does
Pakistan respect the rights of the most vulnerable? Does it defend those rights
against spurious allegations even where those allegations involved matters that
are sacred to most Pakistanis?” Mustafa Qadri, an expert on human rights in
South Asia, told AFP recently.
Bibi was convicted and
sentenced to death in 2010, despite her advocates maintaining her innocence and
insisting the accusers held grudges against her. The allegations
against Bibi date back to June 2009, when she was labouring in a field and a
row broke out with some Muslim women she was working with. She was asked to fetch
water, but the Muslim women objected, saying that as a non-Muslim she was unfit
to touch the water bowl. The women went to a
local cleric and accused Bibi of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH),
a charge punishable by death under legislation that rights groups say is
routinely abused to settle personal vendettas.
Successive appeals
have been rejected, and if on Thursday the three-judge Supreme Court bench
upholds Bibi's conviction, her only recourse will be a direct appeal to the
president for clemency.
She would become the
first person in Pakistan to be executed for blasphemy. The repercussions for
minorities, human rights and the blasphemy laws will be “tremendous” if that
happens, says Shahzad Akbar, a human rights lawyer.
“In Pakistan blasphemy
cases are mostly misused... it would be a huge blow for minorities in Pakistan
who already live in fear,” Akbar explained. A decision in Bibi's
favour, Qadri says, “would send a powerful message to the world that Pakistan
respects the rule of law and not the mob.” But he also warned that hardliners
“would without question react angrily and likely violently” if Bibi is
acquitted.
In 2011, former Punjab
governor Salmaan Taseer, who spoke out in support of Bibi, was gunned down in
broad daylight in Islamabad. His assassin Mumtaz
Qadri was executed earlier in 2016 in a Supreme Court decision that was hailed
by progressives, but brought hardliners into the streets supporting Qadri and
demanding Bibi be killed. Her husband has
already written to President Mamnoon Hussain to seek permission to move her to
France, where the Council of Paris unanimously adopted a proposal to award
honourary citizenship to Asia Bibi in March.
Family in hiding: Bibi's family have
lived largely in seclusion since 2010, fearing they will be mistreated if they
venture out into the brimming streets of Lahore. “Papa used to tell me
not to go out, the situation out there is very bad,” her daughter Esham, 18,
says of the days after Qadri's hanging. “We used to stay inside all the time.” She is afraid, she
says, adding: “Someday someone will come and ask me, are you the daughter of
Asia Bibi?” Esham and her sister Esha go twice a month to the south Punjab city
of Multan, where their mother is held.
“We talk to our mama
about the things at home,” Esham says. “I share my thoughts with her, like
mother-daughter stuff.” The visits begin
joyfully, she says, but end in grief. “She becomes sad... her daughters come to
meet her from such a long distance and she cannot even hug them.” According to a tally
by Human Rights Watch, 17 people including Bibi remain on death row for
blasphemy.
Her case has reached
all the way to the Vatican - Esham had a face to face meeting with Pope Francis
in April last year as the head of Catholic church offered prayers for her
mother. “He gave me blessings
and I can't remember more,” she told AFP. “I feel the Pope is
praying for my mother and he will keep praying, and with his prayers my mother
will be freed.” In 2010, Pope Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI also called for
Bibi's release. Her family continue to
hope. Esham clears her throat and speaks quietly: “My mom will be released. I
ask you to pray for her. “
http://www.dawn.com/news/1289687/asia-bibis-final-appeal-against-blasphemy-to-be-heard-in-supreme-court
see also
Rabindranath Tagore's four-part essay on Nationalism (1917)
