“Protect Asia Bibi and her husband.”

“Both Asia Bibi and her husband must be protected.” The N-VA calls on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to offer asylum to Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi. Asia Bibi made headlines after a Pakistani court overturned her death sentence for blasphemy and ordered her to be released. The ruling led to angry protests from Muslims in the country. “It would not be the first time that the government has taken such an action. Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken issued humanitarian visas to Christians in Syria on a previous occasion.”

Attention for religious minorities

“In 2017, the Chamber approved a resolution by the N-VA that calls on the government to pay special attention to religious minorities driven out of their country by extremist groups. In this case too, the government must strongly condemn violence against the Christian minority in Pakistan,” the N-VA says.

State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken has already said that Asia Bibi is welcome here. He is encouraging the Immigration Service, which has the final say in the matter, to take a positive decision for humanitarian reasons.