In this, her seventh year behind bars, the Christian woman who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan has only words of peace and forgiveness for her persecutors.
Asia Bibi’s humble Christmas is being spent in prison, with a prayer, a Bible reading and a sweet, which she shared with her husband and two children, whom she saw for only half an hour. The only message she wished to send the world, which is on tenterhooks over her fate, was this: “I only wish to say that I do not feel hatred toward anyone. I do not hate those who have made me suffer over the years. I forgive everyone and I pray for those who have caused me hurt.”
Christmas is the feast of peace, a feast the angels announce “to all men of goodwill” and Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who was unfairly sentenced to death for blasphemy, feels fulfilled this Christmas.
She is spending her Christmas in the “shalom”, the fullness of peace and inner joy, which only an unwavering faith and the grace from on high can grant a suffering person in prison. Christ, the “prince of peace” dwells in the heart of a woman who is an example to all Christians of how suffering should be endured and how each of us must bear our cross.
Asia’s ordeal has gone on for seven years and for the seventh year running she is spending Christmas – the family celebration par excellence –, behind bars and is currently being held in the Multan prison’s maximum security section.
This dramatic condition, which the woman has endured with the help of prayer and the daily reading of the Bible, has been a sort of “long spiritual retreat” for Asia, who has developed a profound awareness of self, of her history and her destiny, that is beyond any human reasoning or claims and reaches into the very heart of the Christian experience. Blessing a life that has been ruined by an unjust death sentence and blessing one’s persecutors is not a human doing and can only be a precious gift from God.
Vatican Insider has learnt that on 19 December, Asia’s husband, Masih and their two daughters, Aisha and Esham, accompanied by the family’s lawyer, Joseph Nadeem, were able to visit her in prison and celebrate a sober Christmas with her, in a reunion that lasted just thirty minutes. The intimate gathering was tainted by the intrusive (forced) presence of two prison guards who noted down everything that was said in the family’s fleeting conversation.
During the visit there was a brief moment of prayer and a passage from the Gospel was read out before the cutting of a Christmas cake, the moving exchange of wishes and the embrace between Asia and her daughters. Gestures spoke more than a thousand words in this family gathering.
After her words of forgiveness and blessing, “Asia once again thanked the Pope and all those who continue to pray her,” Nadeem told Vatican Insider. “She is confident that, thanks to the will of God, she will soon be set free.”
The woman appeared to be in a dignified physical and mental state of health but has just recovered from an illness that weakened her in recent weeks. The family delegation brought her water and new clothes.
Asia’s family lives in conditions of poverty and it is only thanks to the generosity of Joseph Nadeem and Lahore’s Renaissance Education Foundation – that is continuing the fundraising campaign that is helping sustain the woman and her family – that they are able to have a dignified Christmas.
Meanwhile, Asia Bibi’s difficult case has been brought before the Supreme Court and is the final stage in her trial. The hearing that had been scheduled for October was postponed because one of the judges withdrew at the last minute, refusing to hear such a sensitive case. Now, Asia’s defence, headed by Muslim lawyer Saiful Malook, who has remained optimistic regarding the outcome of the appeal, has asked the Supreme Court to appoint another bench as soon as possible. According to judicial sources, however, the Supreme Court of Pakistan with its various sections, is busy dealing with the corruption cases involving Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family. The investigation, which began in light of the revelations made in the notorious Panama Papers, could take several months, some observers say.
This level of trial, which risks shaking the very foundations of national politics, is an unofficial excuse – possibly used as a pretext – to further delay the work of the Court on Asia Bibi’s case.
The woman’s lawyer currently has no idea when the hearing could take place. The October hearing was adjourned “sine die” and the fear is that Asia Bibi’s thorny case will remain in an indefinite limbo that suits many.
Meanwhile, the stand that has yet again been taken against the blasphemy law, the instrument used to destroy Asia Bibi’s life, is causing controversy. In a recent report titled “As good as dead”, Amnesty International observed that the blasphemy law is often used against religious minorities and is a pretext used by organised extremist groups to threaten or kill the accused parties, in patent violation of religion, law and basic human rights.
