Pakistani Court Rules That Prime Minister Is Barred From Pardoning Pakistani Christian Woman Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy Against Islam

So, it appears that Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, has one more chance to live and that is her appeal in court to overturn the death sentence she received for blaspheming Islam as a Pakistani court has ruled that a pardon from Pakistan's Prime Minister is not legal.

From the report at Reuters via Breitbart:

A Pakistani court Monday barred President Asif Ali Zardari from pardoning a Christian woman sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam, in a case that has sparked criticism over the country's blasphemy law.

Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother of four, requested a pardon from the president after a lower court sentenced her to death on Nov 8 in a case stemming from a village dispute.

The Lahore High Court barred Zardari from pardoning Bibi in a petition filed by Shahid Iqbal, a Pakistani citizen. Iqbal's lawyer Allah Bux Laghari told Reuters a pardon was illegal as the court was already hearing an appeal against her sentence.

We believe it is the court's duty to evaluate the evidence against her, not individuals, and if she is found innocent, she should be freed," he said.

Now, I have blogged about this story earlier and pointed out at that time that the blasphemy that Bibi is accused of came from a handful of her neighbors who are Muslims - the evidence is paper thin but the lower court was quick to hand down the death sentence. Since then, I've thought about it a bit and for those Americans who feel that Sharia Law isn't such a bad thing and that islamists in America should be afforded this part of their "religion", then this is what you will see in America. You see, this ruling, this sentence IS Sharia Law.

We saw the Iranians back down on the highly publicized stoning conviction of a woman but this news now seems to make it almost impossible for the Pakistan government to step in - I guess that Bibi's only hope is that the appeals court feels the pressure to do the right thing, the sane thing .... if there is any sanity in Islam.

Pakistan PM barred from pardoning Christian woman


(Reuters) - A Pakistani court Monday barred President Asif Ali Zardari from pardoning a Christian woman sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam, in a case that has sparked criticism over the country's blasphemy law.

Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother of four, requested a pardon from the president after a lower court sentenced her to death on Nov 8 in a case stemming from a village dispute.

The Lahore High Court barred Zardari from pardoning Bibi in a petition filed by Shahid Iqbal, a Pakistani citizen. Iqbal's lawyer Allah Bux Laghari told Reuters a pardon was illegal as the court was already hearing an appeal against her sentence.

We believe it is the court's duty to evaluate the evidence against her, not individuals, and if she is found innocent, she should be freed," he said.

Human rights groups have demanded the repeal of the law, which they say discriminates against religious minorities who make up roughly 4 percent of Pakistan's 170 million population.

Last week, a government minister said an initial inquiry into the case of the Christian mother said she had not committed blasphemy but was falsely accused after a quarrel.

Blasphemy convictions are common although the death sentence has never been carried out. Most convictions are thrown out on appeal, but angry mobs have killed many people accused of blasphemy.