Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Friday, 16 November 2018
Despite Asia Bibi’s historic acquittal, Pakistan’s Catholic leaders remain silent

By Anto Akkara/ ncregister.com :

In a historic verdict for Christians and other minorities of Pakistan, Asia Bibi, 53, a Catholic mother of five, was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Oct. 31, after being on death row for eight years.

Before her acquittal, her death sentence — for allegedly committing blasphemy against Islam — had been confirmed by lower courts.

Legal experts who have been observing the case are praising Pakistan’s highest court and are hopeful that the decision heralds important changes in human rights in Pakistan. But instead of similarly celebrating the verdict, the Catholic Church in Pakistan is keeping silent on the landmark verdict.

Senior Catholic officials in Pakistan, contacted by the Register, would not comment on the case, perhaps in part because they are fearful of provoking Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, a fundamentalist Islamic religious group with strong political influence. Weeks before the verdict, the group had called for Bibi’s execution and cautioned Supreme Court judges against acquitting her under pressure from “anti-Pakistan NGOs” and Europe.

Christians account for only about 2% of Pakistan’s 202 million people, 95% of whom are Muslim.

But if the Church remained silent for the moment, others in Pakistan have not. Following the verdict, massive violent protests led by Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan and other Islamist groups erupted across the Muslim-majority nation. According to news reports, Imran Khan, the new prime minister of Pakistan, was forced to promise these groups that Asia Bibi would not be allowed to leave Pakistan, despite several nations offering her and her family asylum.

Soon after the acquittal, Bibi’s lawyer, Amid Saiful Malook, fled Pakistan fearing for his life. A Church official in Pakistan, who requested anonymity, told the Register that, “as far as we know, Asia and her family are still in Pakistan.”