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Pakistan PM under fire for deal with hardliners in blasphemy row
ISLAMABAD, Nov 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will
return home to a deepening political crisis Monday, with pressure mounting
over a deal struck with Islamists hardliners that analysts say has eroded
faith in his government.
Khan spent the last four days on a state visit to China, trying to win some
desperately needed relief for his country’s parlous finances, as his homeland
fractured over the fate of Asia Bibi — a Christian woman cleared of
blasphemy charges last week by the Supreme Court.
The overturning of her conviction, which Pakistan’s top judges ruled was
based on flimsy evidence, ended Bibi’s eight year ordeal on death row.
But it enraged Islamists hardliners who took to the streets, blockaded
major cities and demanded her immediate execution.
Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even
the whiff of an unsubstantiated allegation of insulting Islam can spark death
at the hands of mobs.
The protests were only brought to an end once Khan’s administration agreed
to a deal with the hardliners, where Bibi would remain in Pakistan while a
final review of the Supreme Court’s ruling takes place.
Many critics saw the climbdown as another capitulation to Islamist
hardliners who called for the assassination of the country’s Supreme Court
justices and mutiny against the army’s top brass in the ruling’s wake.
“The government seems to be directionless and it does not seem to have a
proper strategy,” said analyst Fasi Zaka.
“The government has just bought time and we’re still waiting to see what
they do.”
– Praise dissipates –
Only a few days earlier, Khan had been riding a wave of positive energy.
Shortly before his departure for China he delivered a speech vowing to
confront the protesters head on, winning widespread praise from those
detractors who had long accused him of courting extremists and for defending
the blasphemy laws.
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The protests calling for Bibi’s execution were being headed by the Tehreek-
e-Labaik Pakistan party (TLP), which is known for whipping up anger over
blasphemy and successfully achieved a minister’s resignation under the
previous administration in 2017 by blockading roads into Islamabad for more
than three weeks.
Many critics of Khan noted that it was the second time his young
administration had folded to TLP demands after his government sacked an
economics advisor belonging to the persecuted Ahmadi religious minority
following pressure from its outspoken leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
“Khan may have won the election, but it is Rizvi who seems to be ruling
Pakistan today,” wrote columnist Fahd Husain in an editorial published in the
English daily the Express Tribune over the weekend.
“The government must act against the TLP to sustain its popularity,” added
security analyst Amir Rana. “The government looks weak and fragile.”
The deal has left Bibi in legal limbo and her family fearing for her
safety. Her husband has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant
the family asylum while her lawyer has fled overseas.
Khan’s first wife, British activist and filmmaker Jemima Khan, joined the
chorus chiding the premier for backing down, saying his administration had
effectively signed Bibi’s “death warrant.”
“Not the Naya (New) Pakistan we’d hoped for. 3 days after a defiant & brave
speech defending the judiciary, Pakistan’s gov caves in to extremist demands
to bar #AsiaBibi from leaving Pak,” she tweeted Sunday.
– Fear of backlash –
The government continued to defend the deal Monday, saying the agreement
had averted violence.
“We dispersed them in a peaceful way which is an achievement,” Information
Minister Fawad Chaudry told reporters.
Analysts said Khan’s government had little strategy in place for following
through on the vow to confront the protests, which were quickly snow-balling.
“I think there’s a huge fear of a backlash,” said analyst Zahid Hussain,
adding that the powerful army also did not appear to support a potential
crackdown.
Adding to the weekend’s woes, Khan appeared to be returning from
traditional ally China empty-handed as he tries to reduce the amount of funds
Pakistan will likely seek from the International Monetary Fund in bailout
talks.
A statement released late Sunday hinted at new assistance from the Chinese
but made no mention of the billions the government had been hoping to secure.
“The prime minister is facing a real problem as he went to China to get an
aid package, but he was given a cool reception,” said Zaka.
The reception that awaits him on return might get much hotter.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1753 hrs