Pakistani accused of blasphemy on a no-fly list after her lawyer fled

The fate of a Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy was in limbo on Saturday after the government allowed Islamist extremists to appeal its acquittal and put it on a no-fly list.

The lawyer of Asia Bibi, who rescued her from the gallows, left the country early Saturday after being threatened with death.

"In the current scenario, it is not possible for me to live in Pakistan," said 62-year-old AFP before flying to early Europe. Saturday morning.

"I have to stay alive because I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi," he said.

Bibi, who has been on death row since 2010, was acquitted of all charges by Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday, sparking protests by Islamist extremists who paralyzed the country for three days, blocking roads and disrupting traffic in major cities.

Supporters of Islamic political parties protest against the acquittal of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.

AAP

The protesters, however, ended their actions Friday night after the government reached a controversial deal to include Bibi on the no-fly list, saying he would not oppose a call from this verdict, which had been filed earlier in the Supreme Court.

"We asked the Supreme Court to register Asia Bibi on the exit checklist as soon as possible so that she could not leave the country," Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry told AFP. , Qari Salam's lawyer, who had filed suit against Bibi. .

"We fear that she will be expelled from the country by plane, so we asked the court to hold an earlier hearing," he said, adding that he "would exploit all the legal remedies for to ensure that Asia Bibi would be hanged in accordance with the law. "

Bibi's lawyer, Saif-ul-Mulook, and Pakistani media criticized the government for yielding to Islamist extremists after Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared to stand up to them after the court verdict.

Mulook said the Islamist outcry was "unfortunate but not unexpected."

"What is painful is the government's response, they can not even implement an order from the highest court in the country," he said, adding that "the fight for justice must continue ".

Saif-ul-Mulook, Pakistani lawyer of Christian mother Asia Bibi, said that he had no choice but to leave the country.

Getty

& # 39; Another capitulation & # 39;

Dawn, the country's oldest newspaper, has called the deal "new badignment" in an editorial released on Saturday.

"Another government has surrendered to violent religious extremists who do not believe in democracy or the constitution," reads the text.

According to the agreement reached after the failure of the first round of negotiations, a lawsuit will ensue to impose a ban on traveling to Bibi and prevent him from leaving the country.

"His life would be more or less the same, whether it's in a prison or in solitary confinement for security reasons" until a decision on the appeal is forthcoming. said Mulook.

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, called on the authorities to protect her, saying that he feared she would be attacked.

"The situation is dangerous for Asia, I think his life is not safe," he told German radio Deutsche Welle. "I therefore call on the government to strengthen the security of Asia in jail".

Blasphemy is an extremely inflammatory charge in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insult to Islam and its Prophet Muhammad can cause death by militia.

Mulook himself left Pakistan early Saturday, citing death threats from Islamist extremists and other lawyers.

"In the current scenario, it's impossible for me to live in Pakistan," a 62-year-old lawyer told AFP before boarding a plane bound for the United States. ;Europe. "I have to stay alive because I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi," he said.

Life in the major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad has returned to normal with the opening of stores and the resumption of traffic after the dispersal of protesters on Friday night.

The Pakistani party Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP), which has largely led the protests, announced the end of the mbad protests after the conclusion of an agreement with the government.

A five-point agreement seen by AFP, signed by both sides, indicated that the government would not oppose an appeal of the verdict, previously filed in the Supreme Court.

The TLP, founded in 2015, blocked the capital Islamabad for several weeks last year, calling for stricter enforcement of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

The protest forced the federal minister of law to resign and allowed the group to win more than two million votes in the July 25 general election, which badysts called a "surprisingly" rapid increase.