State must protect Aasia Bibi, says chief justice

KARACHI: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar said Wednesday that Aasia Bibi should not be given asylum as sending her abroad would imply Pakistan had failed in its duty to protect the life and property of its citizens.
According to a report on news website Geo TV, Nisar advocated “maximum protection” for Bibi in Pakistan while he was interacting with a group of Pakistani parliamentarians in London. Nisar said the government must assert its sovereignty in such matters, warning there would otherwise be no end to such cases.
He said the justice system needed to be fixed so that ordinary citizens could get speedy and fair trials. He also added there was no evidence against Bibi, yet the judiciary took about eight years to exonerate her of blasphemy charges.
Prior to the chief justice’s remarks, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Bibi was safe and secure in her homeland and Pakistan would continue to respect her legal rights.
Dr. Muhammad Faisal’s comments were a response to Missio, a church association which held a joint press conference with Bibi’s lawyer in Frankfurt and asked Germany to grant the 51-year-old woman asylum.
“Aasia Bibi is our citizen and Pakistan fully respects her legal rights,” Faisal said. Bibi, a Christian woman, was acquitted in a high-profile blasphemy case by Pakistan’s top court last month.
During the press conference Saiful Mulook, church officials and German MPs urged Germany to process the visas for Bibi and her family so that they could live in Europe.
“The MPs of the ruling party will meet the German foreign minister to request him to direct the ambassador in Islamabad to initiate the process to grant the visa to Aasia and her family,” Mulook told Arab News from Frankfurt. “Subsequently, she along with her entire family should be given German citizenship.”
“She has been acquitted by the apex court. [Anyone] filing a review petition doesn’t forbid her from flying abroad,” he argued, adding the judges had not yet suspended the verdict declaring her a free woman.
Faisal explained that a review petition had been filed, which would go through the due legal process. Mulook said that while Pakistan was taking care of her security, Bibi “needs to go abroad in order to live a free life.”
Speaking to reporters earlier, Mulook had said that Bibi would accept being granted asylum in any western country. “Talks are underway with several western countries,” he said.
“The judgment is fully in line with the law and constitution of the country, but the clerics and extreme factions caused such extreme violence that it brought the country to a standstill,” he added.
On October 31, the Supreme Court said it found Bibi not guilty, citing a lack of evidence in her case.
The decision prompted countrywide protests by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, a far-right Islamist group. The protests, which turned violent in some areas, compelled the government to strike a deal with the protesters.

State must protect Aasia Bibi, says chief justice