US says Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi ‘safely reunited’ with family
Asia Bibi, the Christian woman at the centre of a decade-long blasphemy row, is ‘free’ and has been reunited with her family, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, months after her death sentence was overturned.
Pompeo issued a statement after a government source in Pakistan told AFP earlier Wednesday that Bibi had left the country ‘ of her own free will’.
Bibi departure from Pakistan – reportedly going to Canada – marks the latest chapter in a saga that has sparked violent demonstrations and high-profile assassinations while spotlighting religious extremism.
“The United States welcomes the news that Asia Bibi has safely reunited with her family,” Pompeo said in a statement.
“Asia Bibi is now free, and we wish her and her family all the best following their reunification.”
It was not clear when Bibi may have left or where she may have gone, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to confirm whether she has arrived in Canada.
“There are sensitive privacy issues and security issues on this and so I can’t comment,” Trudeau told reporters outside parliament Wednesday.
British Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to confirm that Canada was her destination while speaking on the floor of the House of Commons Wednesday.
“Canada made this offer and we thought it was right and appropriate that we supported the offer that Canada had made,” May said.
Canada’s foreign ministry said it had no comment on the matter.
The Pakistani government source spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity and did not confirm Bibi’s destination, and there was no official announcement from Islamabad.
Blasphemy carries a maximum death penalty under Pakistan’s penal code.
Bibi – a labourer from central Punjab province – was first convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and was on death row until her acquittal last year.
Her case swiftly became the most infamous in Pakistan, drawing worldwide attention to extremism in the country.
She has technically been free to leave Pakistan since January when the Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to her acquittal in October.
Since then, Bibi has been widely believed to have been held in protective custody by authorities as she awaited an asylum deal in a third country.
In November, Trudeau said Ottawa was holding talks with Pakistan about bringing her to Canada, which he said is “a welcoming country”.
Bibi’s lawyer Saif ul Mulook and multiple security sources in Pakistan also told AFP on condition of anonymity that Bibi had gone to Canada.