President Zardari

Pakistan Secretariat,

Islamabad,

Pakistan





Dear President Zardari,



I urge you to commute the death sentence of Aasia Bibi, using the your powers under Article 45 of the Constitution.



I also call for the immediate release of Aasia Bibi, unless she is charged with internationally regognizable offences and tried in proceedings and under laws that meet international human rights standards.



I urge the authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee the safety of Aasia Bibi and her family, and would like to express my concern that the blasphemy laws are used indiscriminately against religious minorities and Muslims alike, and urge the government to amend or abolish laws, particularly section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries the death penalty for anyone found guilty of blasphemy.



I also call on the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take Suo Moto notice of the case, urging the government to fulfil its pledge to review and improve “laws detrimental to religious harmony”, announced by Prime Minister Giliani in August 2009.



Finally I call for an immediate moratorium on all executions in the country, in line with the worldwide trends to abolish the death penalty with a view to an eventual abolition of the death penalty.



Yours sincerely,