Blasphemy case: Punjab law officer vows to back LHC ruling

Aasia Bibi’s appeal put off after judge withdraws from case

ISLAMABAD: A top provincial law officer has vowed to back a Lahore High Court ruling upholding a lower court’s death sentence for Aasia Bibi on blasphemy charges.

“I am appearing in the Supreme Court on behalf of the prosecution, and I will support the LHC judgment as blasphemy charges against Aasia Bibi have been established,” Punjab’s Additional Prosecutor General Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad Farooq told The Express Tribune.

His remarks came as the top court delayed an appeal into the case after one of the judges recused himself, claiming a conflict of interest.



Aasia was sentenced to death by a court in Sheikhupura in 2010 for making blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Four years later, the Lahore High Court upheld the lower court’s verdict.

Chaudhry Zubair said he would argue before the bench orally and would not give a written submission. “I’ve thoroughly studied the case record, wherein I have found that the evidence against the convict is consistent and statements of the witnesses also prove she is guilty.”

He also clarified that he had not received any instructions from the provincial government about the case, insisting it was the discretion of law officers to present a case before the court according to their wisdom.

Earlier, the bench headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, adjourned the long-awaited hearing of Bibi’s appeal against her death sentence for an indefinite period because Justice Muhammad Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman, one of three judges, said he could not rule on whether her 2010 conviction should stand because of his involvement in a related case.



When the case was taken up on Thursday, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar told defence counsel Saiful Malook the a member (Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman) of the bench believes he should not hear the case as he had heard Salmaan Taseer's murder case in Islamabad High Court, which had close nexus with this matter. Later, the court asked the SC registrar to relist the matter.

Malook told The Express Tribune that if the Punjab government supports the conviction, then it could have a very profound impact on the case. He claimed that the provincial government had strongly opposed the acquittal of Aasia at every forum.

The defence counsel also said that it would probably take weeks or months for a replacement judge to be found and for the appeal to be rescheduled. He; however, expected that the case may be shifted in Justice Asif Saeed Khosa’s bench, that is hearing only criminal appeals for the last couple of years.

Malook, who was also the prosecutor in Mumtaz Qadri’s case, also said that he would request the Supreme Court to constitute a larger bench to hear the appeal.

Habibul Haq, who assisted Mumtaz Qadri’s counsel in the court, said that the case should be decided in accordance with the law.



The man, who filed the original complaint with the Punjab police, Qari Muhammad Salim, was also present in the court along with a contingent of lawyers, who offer their services for free in blasphemy cases.

Security was also beefed up around the Supreme Court’s premises. Additional troops were deployed at checkpoints as well as the Constitution Avenue. A Special Branch police official said he believed that more than 2,000 additional police personnel were deployed in the federal capital.

Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, the counsel for the complainant, said Aasia had already been found guilty by two courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2016.