Asia Bibi's daughter pleads for mother's release; Bibi still hidden away in Pakistan
Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, who served approximately nine years on death row for blasphemy before being acquitted in October, remains hidden away in Pakistan as her daughter pleads for the government to release her.
The beleaguered Christian, whose acquittal was upheld in February, is still unable to leave the country amid protests and calls for her death from Islamic radicals. She is reportedly experiencing low blood pressure and is thought to be being denied medical care.
In a Sunday interview with the Daily Mail, Bibi's 18-year-old daughter, Eisham Ashiq, said she misses her mother terribly. Bibi is being held in an undisclosed location.
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"I think about her all the time and I speak to her on the phone all the time. I say to her, 'Have faith in God, because if God can release you from jail, God can release you from where you are now. He will bring you out.'"
The last time she hugged her mom was nine years ago, although she was able to see her through prison bars in October where she could hold hands and kiss her but not hug.
"When she comes, I will hug her and kiss her, and that day will be a very special day when my mummy arrives, and I know I will be very happy, and will thank God before anything else," Ashiq said.
Ashiq has been living in Canada and resides with her older sister.
She is urging Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to release her mother and said that neither she nor her mother will speak ill of their home country. The family is concerned that the longer Bibi remains in Pakistan she is at greater the risk of being harmed.
"We love Pakistan very much, and my mummy will never speak against Pakistan as she loves it too," she said.
"At the moment, she has security, but she could face problems any moment, any time, and it could happen very quickly."
Ashiq was nine when she saw her mom be beaten by a mob in front of village elders.
Bibi's long ordeal began approximately a decade ago when fellow field workers who were Muslim accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad after a dispute when other women from the village refused to drink water from the same cup as her because she was Christian. She has maintained her innocence throughout and her plight has become one of the most famous international religious freedom cases in the world.
