Scotland’s first Muslim leader Humza Yousaf played a crucial role in the release of an elderly Scottish man of Pakistani origin, who was arrested in 2010 by authorities in Pakistan and was sentenced to death by a court in 2014 over blasphemy charges.
Muhammad Asghar, who was convicted of committing blasphemy by a court in Rawalpindi, had a history of mental illness and was arrested in 2010 after an angry tenant who he was trying to evict took the letters written by Asghar wherein he had claimed to be a prophet to the police.
Asghar was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. A radicalised prison guard shot him in Adiala Jail in 2014 where he was serving his time. He survived the attack.
Asghar returned to Scotland in 2016 and passed away in 2017. He was released after human rights defenders and the Scotland government intensified pressure on Pakistani authorities to release him. Hamza Yousaf played a crucial role in Asghar’s release as he held several meetings with Pakistani officials over the matter.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Hamza Yousaf had missed a crucial vote in 2014 related to legalisation of same-sex marriage in Scotland as he had a meeting with Pakistani authorities the same day regarding Muhammad Asghar’s case. The SNP leader had expressed his support for same-sex marriage prior to the voting.
Earlier in March, Asghar’s family released a statement praising the role of the SNP leader in his release.
