A lot of protests have been lodged in different parts of Pakistan. People are divided into two groups, one who stand with Asia Bibi and the decision of the Supreme Court and the others who stand against her and deny the decision of the court. Many people who are denying the decision and are creating chaos don’t even know what went down and why did the Supreme Court acquit Asia Bibi in the blasphemy case. Infact, they don’t even know who Asia Bibi is. To read about Asia Bibi and what happened click here:
Here are the 7 points due to which the Supreme Court announced its judgement in Asia Bibi’s case
- The Sisters Lying about fighting
The sisters (Asma and Mafia) who are the key witnesses of the case and accused Asia Bibi of blasphemy against the Prophet (PBUH) denied the fact that they had any sort of quarrel with Asia Bibi. However, the officer in charge of the investigation learned from the owner of the plant that there had been a quarrel between Asma, Mafia and Asia Bibi. Due to this fact, the key witnesses cannot be termed as truthful and the death sentence cannot be inflicted on their testimony.
- 25-30 witnesses but only 2 accusations
The place where Asia Bibi is said to have passed blasphemous remarks against the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) consisted of 25-30 women. However, only 2 of these women (Asma and Mafia Bibi) reported the matter to everyone. Also, none of the other ladies appeared before the court to testify.
- FIR registered after 5 days
The late registration of a FIR is always suspicious, and the accused is favored in such a case. Another suspicious event was that the FIR was said to be drafted by an advocate, however there was no name listed on the FIR which was filed. This also makes the court doubt the accusations.
- Contradictory statements by the witnesses
The statements by Mafia Bibi, Asma Bibi, Muhammad Afzal and Qari Muhammad Salaam were different in describing the same scenario. Mafia Bibi said that there were more than 1,000 people at her house when Asia Bibi confessed to having committed blasphemy against the Prophet (PBUH). Asma Bibi (Mafia Bibi’s sister) said that the public gathering consisted of 2,000 people and happened at her neighbour’s house where Asia Bibi confessed to her crime. Muhammad Afzal said that he was informed about the incident when he was at his home and that the public gathering took place at Mukhtar Ahmed’s house. Qari Muhmmad Salaam also says that the gathering took place at Mukhtar ahmed’s house. But his remarks about who had informed him about the incident were completely different. Another point to note here is that none of the witnesses included these facts in their initial statements. The contradictions and delay of statements weakened the case against Asia Bibi.
- Ambiguity regarding arrest of Asia Bibi
There are several scenarios described as to how Asia Bibi was arrested. The SI says that he arrested Asia Bibi along with two other lady constables. In cross-examination it was stated by the same SI that Asia Bibi was arrested by him from her house in the village at about 4/5 pm. However, he had first reported that he reached the village at about 7pm. Also, information regarding where the FIR was lodged has also been described differently by the potential witnesses.
- Extra-Judicial confession
Referred to as the confession by the accused outside of court. The Supreme Court says that an extra-judicial confession can be tampered with and therefore does not have the same authenticity. Also, Asia Bibi was brought in front of hundreds of people and was beaten as well therefore any confession made by her at that point cannot be considered as the final statement by the court.
- Date of crime
Potential witnesses have a contradictive statement about the date of the crime. Some say that the complaint was lodged on the day of the crime i.e 14.6.2009 whereas during cross examination it was revealed that the complaint was lodged on 16.6.2009.
Asia Bibi has spent 9 years in Jail. Islam is the religion of love, peace and forgiveness. Muslims should understand that whoever has done wrong will suffer one way or the other by the will of God, it is not the people’s right to take matters into their own hands. Already, 3 people have died since this case has opened. No one wants more lives to be lost. The court has made a decision based on facts. People need to educate themselves. We need to be united as a nation, there is no such Muslim that does not love the Prophet (PBUH), therefore the people need to stop judging eachother and think calmly.
