Christian woman acquitted in blasphemy case to leave Pakistan

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Bibi's 2010 conviction of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Ashiq Masih, husband of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman facing death sentence for blasphemy, points to a poster bearing an image of his wife Asia at a living area in Lahore.(File|AFP)
Ashiq Masih, husband of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman facing death sentence for blasphemy, points to a poster bearing an image of his wife Asia at a living area in Lahore.(File|AFP)

ISLAMABAD: A Christian woman acquitted in Pakistan after eight years on death row for blasphemy plans to leave the country as radical Islamists mount rallies against her.

Asia Bibi's brother says she will leave Pakistan after her formal release from an undisclosed place where she's being held for security reasons.

James Masih says his sister isn't safe in Pakistan and that paper work for her release and departure to an unspecified country is being processed. Masih wouldn't say where Bibi plans to go. France and Spain have offered asylum.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Bibi's 2010 conviction of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Her acquittal raised fears of violence as religious extremists hold angry protests over the verdict, blocking roads and rallying for the second day on Thursday against her acquittal.

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