The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau,
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Justin.Trudeau@parl.gc.ca

Dear Prime Minister,

As you are no doubt aware, Aasia Noreen, better known as Aasia Bibi, a woman from the minority Christian community in Pakistan, and a mother of five, was imprisoned for almost ten years, eight of them on death row, on false charges of ‘blasphemy’ (roughly translated as sacrilege).

Almost 1,400 people are in jail under the ‘Blasphemy Laws’, imposed on Pakistan by the brutal,
fundamentalist military dictator General Zia ul Haq. Sixty-two have been killed in cold blood for
this ‘crime’ even before their cases could be heard by the courts.

On October 31, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted Aasia Bibi of all charges and ordered her release from jail. However, her life is in grave danger at the hands of fundamentalist extremists who have threatened to kill her. It is most unfortunate, but the government of Pakistan might not be able to guarantee their security.

Aasia Bibi, and her family, have already suffered grievously. There is the great likelihood that they might suffer an even more violent and tragic fate. That is why the Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians requests that your government urgently grant Aasia Bibi and her whole family asylum in Canada.

Thank you.

Omar Latif
Coordinator,
Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians

cc: Minister of Immigration: Ahmed.Hussen@ parl.gc.ca