The United Nations has denied forcing the Pakistani lawyer of a woman convicted of blasphemy to leave the country.
Saiful Mulook fled to the Netherlands from Pakistan after violence erupted over Pakistan’s Supreme Court decision to overturn the conviction of Asia Bibi, who was on death row.
“The UN in Pakistan extended its assistance to Mr Mulook at his request, and did not force him to leave the country against his wishes, nor can the UN force someone to leave Pakistan against his or her will,” said UN spokesperson Eri Kaneko.
At a news conference in The Hague on Monday, the lawyer said that he was “put on a plane against my wishes” even though he had refused to leave the country without ensuring that his client was out of prison.
Mulook said that he contacted a UN official in Islamabad after the outbreak of clashes.
“And then they (the UN) and the European nation ambassadors in Islamabad, they kept me for three days and then put me on a plane against my wishes,” he said.
Bibi – a Christian – spent nearly a decade on death row after being accused of blasphemy following a dispute with fellow villagers over drinking from the same bowl of water.
She remains in Pakistan after Prime Minister Imran Khan struck a deal with the Islamist hardliners behind the protests to bar her from leaving until a final court appeal is heard.
The lawyer had previously told AFP before his departure on Saturday that he was leaving because “in the current scenario, it’s not possible for me to live in Pakistan”.
Meanwhile, the Italian government said yesterday that it will help Bibi leave her country.
Her husband, Ashiq Masih, says their lives are at risk.
Two prominent Pakistani politicians who spoke out in her defence were assassinated in 2011.
“I want women and children whose lives are at risk to be able to have a secure future, in our country or in other Western countries, so I will do everything humanly possible to guarantee that (for Bibi),” Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said.
Italy is working discreetly on the case with other Western countries, he told an Italian radio station.
Earlier, the international Catholic agency Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) quoted Masih as saying in a telephone call: “I appeal to the Italian government to help me and my family leave Pakistan.”
In the interview with the radio station, Salvini was asked to respond to the husband’s appeal.
The deputy premier, who is also the Italian interior minister, is known for his tough stance on immigration.
Bibi’s case has prompted groups such as the ACN, which has close ties to the Vatican, to demand protection for Christians in countries where they are a minority.
The Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party blocked major roads in Pakistan’s biggest cities for three days, calling for the murder of the Supreme Court judges who acquitted Bibi, and calling Prime Minister Khan and the army chief enemies of Islam.
The TLP called off the protests after striking the deal with the government.
Over the weekend, the Pakistani authorities have made hundreds of arrests over the protests and rioting.
Salvini said that Italy had nothing against the Pakistani government. “The enemy is violence, extremism and fanaticism.”
Masih and one of the couple’s two daughters met Pope Francis at the Vatican in February and participated in a demonstration organised by the ACN, in which Rome’s Coliseum was lit in red to bring attention to her plight.
Masih has previously appealed to the United States, Britain and Canada for assistance in leaving the country.
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani – an Italian – tweeted that he had invited Masih and his family to Brussels or Strasbourg to “discuss how I can concretely facilitate the release” of his wife.
“We have asked the Pakistani authorities to guarantee your safety and of those protecting you,” Tajani wrote in a letter to Masih, promising his personal intervention in the affair.
During a meeting with EU Commisioner Federica Mogherini in Montreal, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said: “It’s a very important issue, a central priority for our government. Canada calls on Pakistan to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of Asia Bibi and her family/”
“Canada is prepared to do everything we can” and is “extremely engaged in this issue”, Freeland added.
Mulook: They (the UN) and the European nation ambassadors in Islamabad, they kept me for three days and then put me on a plane against my wishes
