ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will begin today hearing of the final appeal of a Christian mother on death row for blasphemy, a notorious case which could see her become the first to be executed under the controversial laws.<br /><br />Asia Bibi, a mother of five, has been on death row since 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI joined in international calls for her release.<br /><br />In 2015 her daughter met with Pope Francis, who as the head of the Catholic Church offered prayers for her mother.<br /><br />It was not clear if the three-judge Supreme Court bench would issue their ruling Monday. If they uphold Bibi’s conviction, her only recourse will be a direct appeal to the president for clemency.<br /><br />Hardliners in Pakistan regularly call for her execution. One of the most vocal groups, the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), has vowed to attend the hearing.<br /><br />But rights activists have warned that carrying the sentence out would be appeasement of populist extremists and a huge blow for minorities, who already face pervasive discrimination in the deeply conservative Muslim country.<br /><br />The allegations against Bibi date back to 2009, when she was working in a field and was asked to fetch water. Muslim women she was labouring with allegedly objected, saying that as a non-Muslim she was unfit to touch the water bowl.
