A Pakistani court has directed the Punjab provincial government and police to give the father of death row convict Asia Bibi prison visitation rights, a family lawyer said.
The directive came today, two days after Soran Masih filed a petition in the Lahore High Court demanding access to his daughter, ucanews.com reports.
Masih said authorities had repeatedly blocked him from the prison following Bibi’s conviction for blasphemy in 2010.
“Judge Muhammad Anwar ul Haq issued directives to the jail superintendent of Multan and the Home Department to let Soran Masih and his family members see Asia Bibi,” Sardar
“We are thankful to the high court for a swift action on our petition,” Gill said.
He said Masih and other close family members could now visit Bibi when they want.
She is being held in the central Pakistani city of Multan, some 180 miles from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province. Her appeal against the death sentence is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
Bibi, a Catholic and mother of five, was sentenced to death in 2010 for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, a charge she denies. Bibi says she was targeted after drinking water from a vessel used by Muslim farmworkers.
The workers said it was forbidden for a Christian to drink water from the same container and later reported her for blasphemy, saying she had insulted the Prophet Muhammad.
Blasphemy remains an extremely sensitive issue in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, and the laws have drawn intense criticism, even within the country.
Former Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer and Christian minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated in early 2011 after they defended Bibi and spoke out against her death sentence and the misuse of the blasphemy laws.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.