A Muslim cleric of an historic mosque in the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Paktunkhwa province offered Rs 5 lakhs for killing Asia Bibi,a Christian woman who was recently sentenced to death by a court for allegedly committing blasphemy. Maulana Yusaf Qureshi,the imam of the well-known Mohabat Khan mosque,announced the reward for killing Asia Bibi during his sermon at the Friday prayers. He announced that he would pay Rs 5 lakh to the person who killed "blasphemor Asia Bibi". The payment would be made from the mosque's fund,he said. Qureshi is known for his outspoken ways and has issued several controversial fatwas in the past. The death sentence given by a lower court in Punjab to Asia Bibu,a 45-year-old mother of five,has triggered a heated debate across Pakistan on the need to repeal or amend a controversial blasphemy law. A report submitted to President Asif Ali Zardari by Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti concluded that the blasphemy case against her had been registered on "grounds of personal enmity and the story narrated in the FIR was concocted and mala fide". Acting on a petition,the Lahore High Court has barred President Zardari or any other government functionary from pardoning the Christian woman. Asia Bibi's husband too has filed an appeal against her death sentence in the Lahore High Court. Hardline religious parties and clerics have threatened they will launch nationwide protests if Asia Bibi is pardoned or if the blasphemy law is changed. The Taliban too have opposed any move to pardon the woman. Asia Bibi¿s case dates back to last year. She was arrested after a Muslim cleric accused her of blasphemy following a row she had with a group of Muslim women. She has denied the charge. Her case has outraged liberals and rights groups in the country and abroad,amid demands for her release.
