By Shahid Khan, Special to ASSIST News Service
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND (ANS July 23, 2015)
– Some years ago, I visited a central jail in Sargodha, Punjab,
Pakistan during a local community project to spend some time with
prisoners serving sentences, often deserted and sometimes forgotten by
their own families and friends.
For
the first time in my life, I came to know the “life” behind the bars.
While we were escorted through the small dingy cells reserved for
solitary confinement with next to nothing sanitary system, damp and dark
with only a window to give some glimpse of life outside, I began to
think what it means to spend a single day in such conditions, let alone
years.
The lifeless existence of
inmates with small and big crimes continue to haunt them day in and day
out. The challenges they face behind the bars, are utterly unimaginable
to the people in the outside world. My one-time glimpse into the prison
cells in Pakistan, to this day still causing me to shudder me in the
comfort of my home.
Asia Bibi, the Christian
blasphemy accused on death row often makes headlines during the time of
her court hearings. I wonder, what it means to be a woman, Christian,
accused of blasphemy, on a death row and in a solitary confinement for
more than five years. Her health has further deteriorated, she is
reported to have internal bleeding and spewing blood. What is it like to
“live” in conditions in which you start to hate your own existence? An
unfathomable trauma!
The recent stay execution on
Asia’s case has been considered a hopeful step. For her it is light at
the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. The Express Tribune
reported loopholes in the making up of the blasphemy case against Asia
Bibi and a gap of five days after the initial incident happened which
according to the counsel of Asia is enough evidence against the veracity
of the case and how it must have been engineered by her opponents which
subsequently, proves her innocence.
While there is enormous hatred
spewed against Asia, there is also broad range support both in Pakistan
and abroad from all faiths which is an encouraging factor. Sometimes the
life of an individual is much more important than anything else. A
message we all need to learn and remind ourselves from time to time.
Fareed
Ahmad, National Secretary of External Affairs of Ahmadiyya Muslim
community UK supports Asia's case and told me: “It is deeply distressing
that Asia Bibi has been on death row in Pakistan for nearly 6 years due
to charges of blasphemy. The founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah
was a passionate advocate for freedom of religion and it is shocking to
see how far the country has moved away from such noble principles.”
Farahnaz Ispahani, a former member of Pakistani parliament and author of forthcoming book “Purifying the Land of the Pure: Pakistan's Religious Minorities”
told me that there is a direct link to the increased Islamization and
the mistreatment of minorities in Pakistan. According to the Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan and the United States Commission for
International Religious Freedom, Pakistan represents the worst
situations for religious minorities in the world.
Commenting on Asia Bibi case Ms.
Ispahani said: “With apex court staying the execution brings a ray of
hope and life not only to Asia but all past, present and future victims
of false cases of blasphemy. It is crucial to be kept alive so that a
precedent of justice is established.”
The ideals of justice, equality
and rule of law are the cornerstones of any progressive society in the
world. The recent stay on Asia Bibi’s execution might be a forlorn hope
to some, but glimmer of hope to others and for sure a new lease of life
to Asia Bibi who is already living a borrowed life.
Kudos to the Supreme Court of
Pakistan which laid the foundation of a justice often denied in the
lower courts to the blasphemy accused cases, which often succumb to the
myriad of societal pressures but now can turn a new page of life for all
those in prison cells with a hope for the shred of a justice.
Finally, there is some light at the end of a long tunnel.
Photo caption: 1) Asia Bibi with her husband and two of her children. 2) The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
About
the writer: Shahid Khan is the vice-chairperson of a Glasgow-based
human rights organization, Global Minorities Alliance -- www.globalminorities.co.uk. He can be found tweeting @shahidshabaz or by e-mail at info@globalminorities.co.uk.
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
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