AIBU or is this another reason to despise Theresa May

[CatherineTheLate]

I don't read the Mail often nowadays but they have an article today saying that Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who was separated from her family when she was jailed in solitary confinement for 8 years was blocked from entering this country by May because it might upset some Muslims. I don't know what anyone else thinks but if anyone in this country would wish her harm, they are not the kind of people I'm happy having here. After all, we've allowed Violent Jihadis and others to move here and that has never bothered the witch woman.

Asia Bibi is reportedly being hunted from house to house in Pakistan, surely this is the time for us to put pressure on Pakistan to send her here.

I think we need to put pressure on Pakistan to address why a Christian is being persecuted in this way.

casel yes but in the mean time there is a woman who is having very real death threats made against her whose life is in danger. It’s all great to say ‘we should put pressure on Pakistan to address this’ but she could realistically be killed at any moment.

I wouldn't be too quick to believe the Daily Mail story. What I've read in the Guardian suggests that the Foreign Office are asking the UK Govt not to give her asylum because of the safety risks to staff based in Pakistan in retaliation, and so are in talks to find another safe country to take her

Sounds more like you're looking for a reason to slag Theresa off. I think that says more about you than this no-doubt-as-factual-as-ever-from-the-Mail article says about her.
And I agree about putting pressure on Pakistan.

So the Pakistani government should protect her and punish those wanting to kill her. I agree she is in danger, but the government should make it clear this behaviour will not be tolerated. If she comes here will that not send out the message that these bigots have won. So they will carry on.

"If she comes here will that not send out the message that these bigots have won. So they will carry on."

I can see your reasoning but if I was her I'd prefer not to be lynched, along with my family.

And if the bigots killed me, wouldn't they think they'd won anyway?

"What I've read in the Guardian suggests that the Foreign Office are asking the UK Govt not to give her asylum because of the safety risks to staff based in Pakistan in retaliation, and so are in talks to find another safe country to take her"

So we find another country to take her so that they suffer any retaliation. Very noble, Guardian.

Forgot to say the story's here www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6425339/Theresa-blocked-asylum-application-Pakistani-Christian.html?ito=amp_twitter_share-top

If we are so worried about the response, why didn't we leave Malala to her fate?

Nah - you just looking for a reason to slag off Teresa May - you just wont admit it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't need an excuse to slag Theresa May off, her lying, weakness and bullying give me plenty of opportunity and they're her better points.

But this is a new low, I'd have a go at any other politician who did this.

I would never believe that anything published by the Daily Mail was the full story, and PP have already provided details that the Fail deliberately chose to ignore because they didn’t fit their political agenda.

I despise May but the DM story is manipulative bollocks. The advice given to the govt - as already explained above - raised concerns about diplomatic staff that could be targeted. None of the advice was about the reaction of UK based Muslims, of whom I doubt many would object to Asia Bibi being welcomed here.

Don't fall for nasty DM propoganda.

So if our diplomatic staff are in such danger if Britain does not cave-in to the extremists in Pakistan why should we not withdraw them?

The kinder transport scheme risked retaliation against our diplomats in Germany, should we have left these children to be killed?

You may have noticed that I rarely read the Mail, but it is very supportive of May under its new Editor so why would it want to make a false accusation against her?

In fact, the Mail addresses the diplomatic point

"It is understood that Mr Javid was backed in his battle by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, despite the fact his officials said allowing her to take sanctuary in the UK would endanger the security of British diplomats in Islamabad.

A senior Government source said: ‘Sajid was very sceptical about the official advice, and pushed hard for her to be given asylum here. It eventually landed on the Prime Minister’s desk, but she just followed the advice of the officials’."

So even the detail there isn't that she was afraid of the reaction of "Muslims", but the fact that officials are concerned for the safety of British nationals currently stationed in Pakistan.

Of course I agree that this woman needs protecting. But diplomacy and international relations make this much more complicated than it seems to a lay person, and to be honest I would trust the officials and know that they are working behind the scenes to find the best solution rather than doing it in the public eye

Despise? That’s a strong word for a person that’s trying their best in a hard situation.
As PP has said, there’s much more to it than Theresa May has said no to saving a woman’s life, we have to think of our country first and the possible repercussions to any ‘help’ we give.

The immediate solution that would result in the minimum number of deaths would probably to get her to a country with no official presence in Pakistan that could be bombed: Liechtenstein or St Kitts and Nevis for example. The other alternative would be to withdraw all U.K. diplomatic presence from Pakistan, but there are huge numbers of families with connections to both countries who travel back and forward and really need a U.K. diplomatic presence in case of emergencies. If we pulled out because we’d taken an action that would make their presence untenable then those families wouldn’t have that support. If it was the only possible option then maybe it would be the right thing to do, but there are many other options that would have fewer bad consequences.