Washington, D.C: News Desk
The US Congressman Clay Higgins has called on President Joe Biden and President-Elect Donald J. Trump to intervene in the case of Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four sentenced to death in Pakistan under blasphemy charges.
In a letter addressed to the outgoing and incoming administrations, Higgins expressed deep concern over Shugufta’s case.
“The continued persecution of Christians in Pakistan is unacceptable and cannot go unanswered,” Higgins stated, urging the U.S. government to leverage official channels to secure Kiran’s release.
Mother of four, Shagufta Kiran was accused of making remarks deemed disrespectful to Islam and has been imprisoned in reportedly inhumane conditions.
Advocates for her release, including Joseph Jansen, Chairperson of Voice for Justice, and Catholic missionary Priest Dave Nix, have condemned the misuse of blasphemy laws to silence dissenting religious voices.
Further, Jansen criticized the laws as tools for suppressing religious expression, stating, “Nobody should be sentenced to death simply because of their opinion or faith.”
He also highlighted the severe emotional toll on Kiran’s children, who are struggling with their mother’s imprisonment and death sentence.
Higgins further questioned U.S. foreign policy, arguing that financial assistance to the countries must be reviewed in future if, the governments failed to uphold individual liberties and religious freedoms.
The letter has also been sent to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Senator Marco Rubio, the nominee for Secretary of State under the incoming administration, said the presser
