[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 182 (Friday, November 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE ASIA BIBI CASE REVEALS THAT PAKISTAN FAVORS EXTREMISM OVER JUSTICE

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 16, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Pakistan is a state that not only 
harbors extremists but incorporates their wicked ideology into law. For 
years, Pakistani religious minorities have suffered under the nation's 
barbaric blasphemy laws, with dozens sentenced to death and many more 
brutally imprisoned, tortured, or attacked by extremist mobs. The 
prosecution and treatment of Asia Bibi under this absurd blasphemy law 
has revealed Pakistan to be governed by radical mobs rather than a fair 
justice system.
  Asia Bibi, whose real name is Aasiya Noreen, has been sitting on 
Pakistan's death row for nine years for allegedly insulting the Prophet 
Muhammad when she was told she could not drink from the same cup as 
Muslims because she is a Christian. For defending herself and standing 
for universal values of religious liberty and human rights, she was 
horrifically beaten in front of her five children and condemned to die 
by Pakistan's courts. Fortunately, Pakistan's Supreme Court has shown 
some sense of justice and acquitted Bibi because there was no evidence 
to convict her. Yet her fate remains uncertain. Extremists have 
protested the court's decision across Pakistan and made clear their 
violent intent if she is released. In fact, two prominent Pakistani 
politicians who spoke out in defense of Bibi, were assassinated in 
2011, including the only Christian member of Pakistan's cabinet.
  However, it's unclear if the Pakistani government will protect her 
and not cave to extremist demands--as it has so many times before. 
Right now, Bibi and her family's lives are in danger. Being a Christian 
in Pakistan already is a huge risk but being one that has simply been 
accused of insulting Islam is to put a bounty on their heads for which 
Pakistan's multiple terrorist groups are eager to collect. Bibi's 
lawyer has already sought asylum for himself and his family in the 
Netherlands because of the death threats. But Pakistan's new Prime 
Minister, Imran Khan, has signaled he will appease the extremists by 
potentially blocking her attempts to flee Pakistan and vowing not to 
oppose a review of the Supreme Court's acquittal. This is unacceptable 
and demonstrates that Pakistan's leaders favor extremism over justice.
  Perhaps, the only thing worse than Pakistan surrendering its rule of 
law to extremists is that the United States spends billions of dollars 
to support this corrupt government. There is no justification for our 
tax dollars subsidizing persecution of Christians and other minorities. 
America must end its assistance to Pakistan and send a clear message 
that its current course towards an extremist state ends in isolation.
  And that's just the way it is.

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