In January, Pakistan’s Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the acquittal of Asia Bibi on blasphemy charges and upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi’s conviction and death sentence.
The Supreme Court’s quashing of her sentence in October 2018 led to violent protests by religious hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws, while more liberal sections of society urged her release.
The hardliners had petitioned to overturn the ruling, but Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa dismissed it. Asia had been unable to leave Pakistan while the appeal request was pending and had been kept safe at a secret location in Islamabad.
The ruling clears the way for her to leave Pakistan, though it is not clear when that will happen and where she will go. She has been offered asylum by a number of countries, and some unconfirmed reports say several members of her family may already be abroad.
Meanwhile, the court ruling will test the resolve of the far right Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan group, which has conducted a violent anti-blasphemy campaign in the past, though many of its leaders have been under arrest since October when the court first acquitted Asia Bibi. In a concerted move to forestall public unrest, Pakistani electronic media is underplaying the story.
Many observers believe the ruling will revive the practice of applying standard legal tests of criminal procedure while adjudicating blasphemy cases, as they had increasingly become hostage to vigilante justice by extremists.
