ISLAMABAD: Contrary to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tough televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Interior Minister, Shahreyar Khan Afridi, said on Thursday that the demonstrators protesting against the Supreme Court verdict in the case of Aasia Bibi will be dealt with in a peaceful manner.
Afridi added that the decision had been taken by the National Assembly on Thursday after consulting with the higher authorities of all four provinces. “The government has initiated dialogue with protesters to disperse them peacefully,” he said. “The nation will get good news soon.”
Bibi, a Christian woman who had been imprisoned for eight years on blasphemy charges, was acquitted by the country’s top court on Wednesday. Dismissing the Supreme Court’s decision, certain Islamist groups resorted to demonstrations, blocking the main roads in all major cities of the country.
Prior to Afridi’s statement on the floor of the house, Federal Minister for Higher Education, Shafqat Mahmood, had said that the government was trying to address the situation through different means. “Negotiations are underway with those who believe in the rule of law and security forces are also prepared to disperse those who are challenging the state’s writ,” he said.
Mahmood added that the government was fulfilling its responsibility by ensuring the implementation of the judgment. “We believe in rule of law and stand with the Supreme Court,” he said.
“If someone dares to trample the state’s writ, we will move against him,” the minister said while referring to leaders of far-right party, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), who have incited people to attack the judges who had handed down the landmark verdict in the case on Wednesday.
“It is our responsibility to maintain law and order, and we will do it,” he noted. “We will not tolerate if somebody blocks the roads and disrupts public life.”
Defying the government’s stern warnings, Islamist protesters blocked roads in the country’s major cities for the second consecutive day on Thursday, demanding the reversal of the apex court’s verdict.
The demonstrators have paralyzed life in three major cities of the country – Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi – to protest the court’s decision to release Bibi who had been on death row since 2010.
She was accused of making “defamatory and sarcastic” comments against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in July 2009 during an argument with three Muslim women, while working in a field, in Sheikhupura.
But a three-judge panel set up to hear the appeal, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, ruled on Wednesday that the evidence was insufficient. “The prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,” read the 56-page detailed judgment of the court.
The case had divided Pakistan, with two politicians who sought to help Bibi and demanded an amendment to the country’s blasphemy laws killed in the process. It also incensed Christians worldwide, with Pope Francis saying he personally prayed for Bibi.
Pakistan’s opposition parties have extended a helping hand to the government to deal with the “crisis” by striking a dialogue with the protestors, adding that PM Khan should have attended the National Assembly’s proceedings and taken its members into confidence over the government’s strategy to deal with the situation.