The Nine Lives of Pakistan by Declan WALSH

Author:Declan WALSH
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

When Qadri finally testified in court, he argued that Pakistan’s Islamic law justified his shooting of the governor. ‘Nature had to take its course, and justice was done,’ he said. ‘It is a lesson for all apostates.’

Qadri was executed on 29 February 2016, hanged before dawn at Adiala Jail. The newspapers estimated that 100,000 people attended his funeral, many of them wailing and kissing photos of their hero. Qadri, wearing a green turban decorated with sparkling brooches, was laid to rest in a coffin strewn with rose petals, in a mausoleum with tall white minarets. Mourners wore T-shirts that read I AM QADRI.

Asia Bibi, meanwhile, languished in jail. She spent most of her time in solitary confinement – for her own safety, wardens said – where she battled asthma and loneliness and cooked her own meals to reduce the danger of poisoning. At times, she was chained and forced to wear an iron collar that her guards tightened with a large nut. Campaigners in the West continued to focus attention on Asia’s plight, and Canada offered to give her asylum. But in Pakistan, her case was largely forgotten. No minister, general or judge, it seemed, had the courage or strength to set the Christian woman free.

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