Many of us are had only just come to terms with the fiasco that took place upon Atif Mian’s appointment in the advisory council, and then disappointment struck again.
Aasia Bibi is a 47-year old Christian farm laborer and mother of 5, who was charged with allegations of blasphemy back in 2010. She is said to have insulted the Prophet and refused to convert to Islam when demanded by fellow Muslim farm workers.
Charges of blasphemy carry an automatic death penalty in the legal system of Pakistan, and despite it not being observed officially by the state, vigilante mobs continue to take the matters into their own hands and have killed at least 65 people since 1990 for this reason alone.
Aasia Bibi’s appeal was due to be heard back in 2016 by the Supreme Court but was continually delayed. It also resulted in the murders of the governor of Punjab Salman Taseer and minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, as they chose to stand for Asia Bibi’s defense and called for a reform of these laws in 2011.
Being the first woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, Aasia Bibi has been forced into solitary confinement for the past eight years. Finally, on the 31st of October 2018, Pakistan’s Supreme Court struck down the death sentence and after a delay of 3 weeks due to threats and promise of causing paralysis of the country by religious extremists, the 56-page ruling was published.
Shahbaz Taseer, the son of the murdered governor Salmaan Taseer, told the Guardian: “This is a huge victory for my father, for Pakistan, for the poor, for the judicial system, for every marginalized person in this country.
It led to a ginormous uproar by our religious extremists; roads were blocked, schools were closed and the entire country placed on high alert. The world watched as these people ran havoc.
https://twitter.com/BeatriceChallan/status/1057629674111557633
Current situation in lahore #AsiaBibi pic.twitter.com/ZW8gelFyxi
— M. Nadeem Aftab (@mnadeemaftab) November 1, 2018
Despite the chaos, PM Imran Khan, in a televised address, defended the release strongly, stating that it was taken in accordance with the constitution of the country which aligned with the teachings of Islam. He further said, “Only enemies of the state call for the execution of judges.”
Fast forward to Friday night 2nd of November, these very ‘enemies of the state’ were released from capture and pardoned for the mess they created due to their outrage in hopes of calming down the situation…and that’s not even the worst part.
The deal struck with the hard-line Islamic in order to end the not-so-peaceful protest further includes:
- Review petition of Aasia Bibi’s case to be filed and pursued.
- Aasia Bibi’s name to be placed on the ECL (despite previous claims of refusal to do so)
- Legal action to be taken if any of the TLP’s supporters were ‘martyred’ during the protests (made violent by TLP personals themselves)
- Apology issued by TLP on hurting anyone’s sentiments
So once again, after taking such a GLORIOUS step forward PTI backtracks, giving into these extremists. Refer to the Atif Mian reference made earlier; needless to say the observed pattern is quite evident.
Pakistan is henceforth a nuclear power that bends down to hateful, bigots who successfully shut down the country, trash the streets and burn buildings in order to get their demands met.
I genuinely fear for what the future holds for a country being run by a government that can’t even stick to a particular stance.
