Message from Jean Lambert London Green MEP And South Asian Delegate for the European Parliament.
At its October session, the European Parliament debated the case of Asia Bibi and will return to it in the November session next week. It’s the view of the European Parliament that the guilty verdict should be quashed. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are all too often used to settle scores or intimidate minorities, doing little to uphold the values they aim to protect. People of all faiths can all too easily find themselves victims of these laws, and many never have the chance to defend themselves.
Those in Pakistan who dare to question these laws risk intimidation and even death.
Human rights are universal and indivisible: all citizens of Pakistan, whatever their belief, are entitled to justice and equality before the law. It is the responsibility of government to ensure those rights.
The brutal murder of Shahzad Mahsih and his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, on 4 November was an appalling act of mob violence and those responsible must be brought to justice. Human rights, including freedom of belief, must be upheld in Pakistan as elsewhere. Regardless of religion, we must all stand together to demand justice and an end to violence.