LAHORE, Pakistan: One of the most frightening things about Pakistan’sblasphemy law is that the simplest act can spiral into charges that canbring the death penalty.In the case of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman, it started when she broughtwater to fellow women workers on a farm in 2009.Bibi had a sip from the same container and some of the Muslim women becameangry that a Christian had drunk from the same water. They demanded sheconvert, she refused. Five days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy. Shewas convicted and sentenced to death.The Supreme Court is expected to hear her appeal.Pakistan is under new international pressure to curb Islamic extremism, andactivists at home say one place to start is by changing its blasphemy law.- Agencies
Pakistan under international pressure over blasphemy law