The Foreign Office on Tuesday said the Canadian foreign minister had telephoned his Pakistani counterpart a day earlier and spoke about Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was recently acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case. The Canadian foreign minister during the phone call appreciated Supreme Court’s courageous decision acquitting Bibi and the prime minister’s ‘positive speech’ following the verdict, FO spokesman Dr Faisal tweeted. “FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Asia Bibi is a Pakistani national and Pakistan fully respects her legal rights,” he added.
A day earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that his government was in talks with Pakistan over potentially offering asylum to Bibi. “We are in discussions with the Pakistani government,” Trudeau had said in an interview in Paris, where he was attending a peace conference organised by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Separately, Foreign Minister Qureshi met the sister of Dr Afia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist jailed in the US, at the Foreign Office. During the meeting, efforts to bring back Dr Aafia were discussed.
The foreign minister apprised Dr Fouzia Siddiqui of the efforts undertaken in Dr Aafia’s case. “To ensure Dr Aafia’s well-being, we have conducted consular visits,” he said. “We have also spoken to Pakistani consulate general regarding protecting Dr Aafia’s legal and human rights,” he added.
Published in Daily Times, November 14th 2018.
