Mike Pompeo asks Pakistan to do more on religious freedom
Releasing an annual report on international religious freedom, Pompeo estimated that more than 40 others were serving life sentences or facing execution for blasphemy in Pakistan.
Releasing an annual report on international religious freedom, Pompeo estimated that more than 40 others were serving life sentences or facing execution for blasphemy in Pakistan.
Asia Bibi’s case horrifyingly illustrates the dangers of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and the dire imperative to repeal them
Asia Bibi, a 47-year-old mother of five, was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours.
On closer reflection, Tuesday’s verdict is a robust iteration of the acquittal order that was pronounced on 31 October last year.
It is open to question how Imran Khans government will countenance the threat posed. It is likely that the Army will broker some sort of a truce between the government and the Islamists. The army is apparently playing on the backfoot because the agitators have arraigned the Army Chief, General Qamar Bajwa, because of pro-Ahmedi leanings.
The case began in June 2009 when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl, and reportedly a fight erupted.
It is a victory for tolerance and rationality in the Islamic, albeit mildly theocratic, Pakistan. This is quite the most…
On Friday night, the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party (TLP), which has largely led the demonstrations, announced an end to mass protests after reaching a deal with the government.
Extremists chiefly belonging to Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan and other factions took to streets against the verdict and blocked main roads in all major cities as well as several highways and motorways.
A radical Islamist group on Saturday called off protests in Pakistan against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, who had been charged with blasphemy.
