Pak SC reserves verdict in Asia Bibi death case

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday reserved judgment in the blasphemy case lodged against death-row convict Asia Bibi.

The Christian woman was convicted of blasphemy in November 2010. During the two hours, 45 minutes continuous hearing, a three-judge special bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, highlighted several discrepancies in the statements of prosecution and court witnesses in the case. The death penalty was backed by government of Punjab’s prosecution counsel. An expert in criminal law, Justice Khosa noted that the prosecution case was weak due to discrepancies in the statement of their witnesses. The statements, he observed, lacked details about the quarrel between Asia Bibi and the accusers.

He also inquired about the non-disclosure of the lawyer, who drafted the complaint, during cross-examination. Justice Khosa pointed out that there were two versions about the filing of complaint: first one said the application was given to police near a river while the second stated that the application was submitted in a police station.

Furthermore, five different versions of Bibi confessing before a Panchayat (tribal village court) emerged. The incident occurred on June 14, 2009 but the First Information Report (FIR) was registered five days later: June 19, 2009.

The apex court restrained media from publishing comments on the matter until announcement of verdict.

Justice Khosa — who is the head of the bench hearing criminal appeals in murder blasphemy cases — has been part of the previous special bench dealing with Bibi’s case. He had also authored the verdict that justified the death penalty handed to Mumtaz Qadri.