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Netherlands Recalls Staff From Its Embassy In Pakistan After Threats

Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Mulook, fled to the Netherlands soon after the verdict, citing death threats. The Dutch government said last week that it had offered him temporary shelter (Pakistani lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook (C), escorted by the police, arrives fo give a press conference, in The Hague on November 5. Photo: JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images).

By: Radhakrishna N S

The Netherlands recalled staff from its embassy in Pakistan following threats after providing shelter to the lawyer of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday (12). Hard-line Islamists in Pakistan have blocked streets and called for the killing of judges after the supreme court on October 31 overturned the conviction of Asia Bibi, a mother of five, who had been on death row for eight years. “Unfortunately threats have been made against the Netherlands, Dutch diplomats,” foreign minister Stef Blok told national NPO radio. “I discussed the issue with my Pakistani colleague.” The…

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