Centre asks Punjab to tighten Aasia’s security

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LAHORE: The federal ministry of interior has asked the Punjab government to enhance security measures for Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman languishing at the Sheikhupura district jail after being condemned to death.

The move has come in the wake of intelligence reports that some militant outfits, including a relatively unknown Moawiya group, have planned to assassinate her in jail after declaring her a ‘blasphemer’.

Well informed interior ministry sources confirmed that following the January 4 assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, grave concerns have been expressed about Aasia Bibi’s safety by none other than Pope Benedict XVI, who had earlier called for her release, prompting Taseer to meet her at Sheikhupura district jail.

In his recent communique to the Pakistan Government, the Pope is reported to have condemned the murder of Taseer besides expressing worries about Aasia’s safety. The decision makers in Islamabad have been asked to make foolproof security arrangements for Aasia given the fact that around three dozen blasphemy accused facing court trials have already been killed extra-judicially, with many of them found dead in prison under dubious circumstances.

The ministry of interior has subsequently directed the Punjab home department to shift Aasia to a separate jail cell and provide her extra security. The home department has also been directed to conduct a thorough scrutiny of the security staff responsible for Aasia Bibi’s security, amidst renewed fears that some other religiously motivated fanatic in police uniform could assassinate her anytime, as had been the case with the Punjab governor.

The sources confirmed that a rather unknown militant outfit - the Moawiya group — intends to target Aasia in Sheikhupira jail where she is being held since November 2009, waiting for the Lahore High Court to hear her appeal against the death sentence.

According to available figures, 133 people are currently held in different jails across Punjab on blasphemy charges, out of which 13 have already been sentenced to death, including Aasia Bibi, who was the first woman to be given the penalty. Though no one has so far been executed after being convicted, 35 people, including the late Punjab Governor, who were accused of committing blasphemy or defending those charged with blasphemy, have been killed between 1990 and 2011.