Islamabad (Agencies): The husband of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case, on Sunday appealed to US President Donald Trump for refuge, citing danger to family members’ lives.
"I am requesting the President of the United States Donald Trump to help us exit from Pakistan," Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, said in a video recorded by the British Pakistani Christian Association.
"I also request the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to help us, I also request the Prime Minister of Canada," he said, while also asking for help on behalf of his brother Jospeh Nadeem who has assisted with Bibi’s case.
The US, British and Canadian High Commissions in Islamabad are yet to respond to a comment on the video.
The Supreme Court on October 31 ordered Bibi’s immediate release stating that blasphemy charges could not be proven against her.
The judgement triggered countrywide protests by religious parties, bringing the country to a standstill for three days before the government reached a deal with the demonstrators on Friday.
Following the apex court’s decision, religious parties staged protests in major cities across the country and incited violence against Bibi’s lawyer as well as the judges. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) only called off the protests late on Friday after the government reached a deal to initiate legal proceedings to put Asia Bibi on the Exit Control List and said it would not object to a review appeal against the verdict, which was filed earlier in the Supreme Court.
On Saturday, Bibi’s lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook left the country owing to threats to his life.
Bibi was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010, despite her advocates maintaining her innocence and insisting the accusers held grudges against her.