Mike Collins: “I thank you again, Congressman Franks, for your friendship. Thank you for your outspokenness on this issue for many…”

“I thank you again, Congressman Franks, for your friendship. Thank you for your outspokenness on this issue for many years, and I think we continue to bring this forward as we go forward. Mr. Speaker, one of the things I want to overlook before I turn it over to another colleague is the area of Pakistan--and this is something that is many times overlooked when we start, but in Pakistan, blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence. Now, think about this for just a second--and, again, in our area, we get numb to the fact because of what we have--but blasphemy laws there carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam or professes another faith. In November 2014, two Pakistani parents were burned alive because of their Christian faith. These individuals were accused of burning a Koran and subsequently killed by a mob of their countrymen. A Pakistani court also convicted a Christian woman, mother of five, Asia Bibi, of blasphemy and sentenced her to death. Yesterday, after much prayer and concern from the Christian community, Reuters News reported that the Pakistani Supreme Court temporarily suspended her death sentence. While the suspension is welcome news, the international community desires that Ms. Bibi is released from prison because of the trumped-up charges.…”