4th October, 2014
A Christian accused of blasphemy against Islam in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is "alive and well" following a 25th September gun attack in the prison where he is being held, despite earlier reports in other media he had died in the attack, according to Morning Star News.
Zafar Bhatti’s wife, Nawab Bibi, told the news service that her husband was in a cell adjacent to one in which a prison guard pulled out a handgun and allegedly shot and wounded a British-Pakistani Muslim, Muhammad Asghar, who had been convicted of blasphemy. The shooter was then apprehended by prison guards.
“Fortunately, the other prison guards were able to tackle the shooter soon after he fired the first shot at the Muslim blasphemy accused," Mr Bhatti’s wife reportedly told Morning Star News by phone from Islamabad. "He told us that the shooter kept screaming that he would kill all those who have been disrespectful to the prophet Muhammad.”
She said that her husband had repeatedly expressed fears that Islamist extremists would kill him one day. “All hell broke loose on me when I was informed that there had been a shooting incident at Adiala Jail and my husband had been murdered,” she said. “Our lawyer contacted the prison authorities, but they failed to give him a satisfactory reply and also refused to bring my husband on the phone so that we could be assured of his safety.”
A local Christian organisation subsequently managed to arrange a visit with her husband, and she said she was relieved to see him well.
Bibi told Morning Star News she did not know why her husband was accused under Pakistan”s blasphemy laws, which have been widely condemned.
“My husband was charged with blasphemy in July 2012 by Gujrat Police,” she said. “He and a woman, Ghazala Khan, are accused of sending blasphemous text messages and were charged under Section 295-C (defaming Muhammad, which carries the death penalty).”
Ghazala has been freed on bail, while Bhatti was yet to receive any judicial relief in the case.
– DAVID ADAMS (with Morning Star News)
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