Pakistan court clears way for father to visit Asia Bibi

A Pakistani court has directed the Punjab provincial government and police to give the father of Catholic death row convict Asia Bibi prison visitation rights.  The order comes two days after Soran Masih, filed a petition in the Lahore High Court demanding access to his daughter.  Masih said authorities had repeatedly blocked him from the prison following Bibi’s conviction for blasphemy in 2010. 

"Judge Muhammad Anwar ul Haq issued directives to the jail superintendent of Multan and the Home Department to let Soran Masih and his family members see Asia Bibi," Sardar Mushtaq Gill, Masih’s lawyer, told UCANEWS Aug. 25.  "We are thankful to the high court for a swift action on our petition," Gill said.   He said Masih and other close family members could now visit Bibi when they want. 

Asia Bibi is being held in the central Pakistani city of Multan, some 290 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province.  The mother of five, was sentenced to death in 2010 for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, a charge she denies.  Bibi says she was targeted after drinking water from a vessel used by Muslim farmworkers.  A local court upheld the conviction in 2012.  Her appeal against the death sentence is currently pending in the Supreme Court. (Source: UCAN)