In the wake of his wife's blasphemy conviction being overturned, Ashiq Masih told DW that his family must constantly move due to threats of violence. He fears his wife may be attacked in prison before her release.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali
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Ashiq Masih, the husband of a Christian woman whose acquittal on blasphemy charges has shaken Pakistan, told DW on Saturday that he is worried for his wife's safety.
His wife, Aasiya Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, has spent nearly 10 years in prison after neighbors accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. In 2010, she was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. She would have been the first person in Pakistan to be executed for blasphemy under the current law and the first woman in Pakistan to be executed.
Asia Bibi had been on death row since 2010Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali
But on Wednesday, Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that there was not enough evidence against her and ordered her release, though not until after the court makes a final review of its verdict. The decision prompted angry protests by the Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, which only ended after the government under Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed to bar Bibi from leaving the country and to release a number of arrested protesters.
What is your reaction to the agreement reached between the fanatical group of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan and the government?
The agreement has sent a shiver down my spine. My family is frightened, my relatives are frightened and my friends are also frightened. This agreement should never have been struck. The three judges delivered the verdict after taking into account all aspects of the case, analyzing all factors, studying the contradictions and basing everything on facts. Therefore, the government should not have come to such an agreement. I think the Supreme Court should take notice of this.
My wife, Asia Bibi, has already suffered greatly. She has spent ten years in jail. The verdict of the Supreme Court had created a ray of hope; we were excited that we would meet her soon. My daughters were dying to see her free, but now this review petition will prolong her plight. She will have to stay in jail until the review petition is decided.
Asia Bibi case highlights Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws
Asia Bibi, a Pakistani-Christian woman, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court on blasphemy charges in 2010. Who is Bibi, and why has her case attracted international attention?
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Leaving 'for Canada'
A decade after being accused of blasphemy, Asia Bibi left Pakistan with her husband Ashiq Masih for Canada. A family member told DW that Bibi's two daughters were waiting for her in Calgary. Her departure was delayed six months, reportedly due to extreme pressure from the deep state not to speak out against the state when she leaves the country.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali
A dispute over water
In 2009, Asia Bibi was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad while she was working in a field in Punjab's Sheikhupura district. The Muslim women who were working with Bibi objected to her fetching water, saying that as a non-Muslim she was not allowed to touch the water bowl. The women then complained to a local cleric and leveled blasphemy charges against Bibi.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A sensitive matter
According to local media, the argument in the field led to a mob attack on Bibi's house. Later, police took Bibi into custody and launched an investigation into the blasphemy accusations. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the population is Muslim.
Image: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images
Controversial law
The blasphemy law was introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq, a military dictator, in the 1980s. Activists say they are often implemented in cases that have little to do with blasphemy and are used to settle petty disputes and personal vendettas. Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis — a minority Islamic sect — are often victimized as a result.
Image: Noman Michael
The Pakistani state vs. Bibi
In 2010, a lower court convicted Bibi of blasphemy. Although the defense lawyer argued that the blasphemy allegations were made to settle personal scores, the court sentenced Bibi to death by hanging. Bibi's family has been living under constant fear since 2010. Her husband, Ashiq Masih (R), says he has been fighting a battle for his wife's freedom ever since.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Assassination of critics
In 2010, Salman Taseer (R), the then governor of Punjab province, backed Bibi and demanded amendments in the blasphemy laws. Taseer's anti-blasphemy law position angered extremists. In 2011, Taseer was gunned down by his own bodyguard in Islamabad. The same year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the then minister for minorities and a prominent blasphemy law critic, was also assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
Image: AP
Celebration of killings
After Taseer's murder, Qadri became a hero for Pakistani Islamists. Qadri was showered with rose petals by right-wing groups as he was taken to jail by the authorities. Qadri was sent to the gallows in 2016. Thousands of people – mostly supporters of Islamic groups – attended Qadri's funeral. Local media reported that Qadri's supporters built a shrine after his death to honor him.
Image: AP
Fear in the judicial community
After the killings of blasphemy law critics, many lawyers refused to take up Bibi's case in the higher courts. In 2014, the Lahore High Court upheld her death sentence. Pakistan's top court, the Supreme Court, was scheduled to hear Bibi's appeal against the conviction in 2016, but one judge refused to be a part of the judicial bench, citing personal reasons.
Image: Reuters/F. Mahmood
Victims of blasphemy law
According to the American Centre for Law and Justice, at least 40 Pakistanis were sentenced to death on blasphemy charges in 2016. The law is often used to target religious minorities and secular Muslims. Although there hasn't been any legal execution under the blasphemy law, there have been instances where angry mobs have lynched alleged blasphemers.
Image: APMA
Persecution of religious minorities
Pakistan's Christians and other religious minorities complain of legal and social discrimination in their country. In the past few years, many Christians and Hindus have been brutally murdered over unproven blasphemy allegations.
Image: RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images
Threats from Islamists
Religious extremists in Pakistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group, have warned the authorities against reversing Bibi's blasphemy verdict. The country's Christian minority fears that if the judges decide to reverse the death sentence, they could face a violent backlash from the country's hardline Islamic groups.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. K. Bangash
International support for Bibi
Rights groups and Western governments demand a fair trial in Bibi's case. In 2015, Bibi's daughter met with Pope Francis, who offered prayers for her mother at the Vatican. In 2014, Amnesty International dubbed the Lahore High Court's verdict against Bibi a "grave injustice." The American Centre for Law and Justice also condemned Bibi's sentence and urged Islamabad to protect religious minorities.
The judiciary is very courageous. It has really decided the verdict on merit. But now during the review petition, the clerics might gather outside the Supreme Court and try to influence the verdict. It is wrong to set a precedent in which you pile pressure onto the judiciary. I went to session court, where I could see that the judge was under tremendous pressure to convict Asia. The lower court gave the decision against us but we did not threaten any judge, nor did we say anything against him. We went to Lahore High Court and the decision was upheld; we did not say anything against the judiciary, preferring to wait for years, but now when the decision has come in our favor these people want it to be reversed. Clerics want to prove that the Supreme Court is wrong. This is a negative trend. Despite all this we hope that the verdict will be decided on merit in the review petition.
The Supreme Court's decision to order Bibi's release sparked violent protests by the Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik partyImage: Getty Images/AFP/R. Tabassum
Will you feel safe going to the Supreme Court to attend the review petition?
The current situation is very dangerous for us. We have no security and are hiding here and there, frequently changing our location. I think that the clerics will encircle the Supreme Court on the day of the hearing. I will really feel very afraid of going on that day. But I think God has been protecting us and he will also continue to protect us. I place all my trust in God.
What is the condition of Asia Bibi?
I did not meet her after this verdict, but when they reserved the verdict after the hearing I met her. At that time she said that she would accept whatever verdict the court would deliver. The situation is dangerous for Asia. I feel that her life is not secure. We must remember that two Christian men in Faisalabad were gunned down years ago after a court set them free. They were also accused of blasphemy. So, I appeal to the government to enhance Asia's security in jail.
This interview was conducted by S. Khan, DW Asia correspondent in Islamabad, and edited for clarity.
