Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman at the center of a
decade-long blasphemy row that sparked violent unrest and spotlighted religious
extremism, left her home country on Wednesday and is believed to be in Canada, AFP reported.
Islamabad made no formal statement and Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau refused to confirm her arrival, citing privacy and
security issues.
Bibi's lawyer Saif ul Mulook and multiple security sources
in Pakistan speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that Bibi had gone to
Canada, with another government source adding she had left "of her own
free will".
A laborer from central Punjab province and minority
Christian, Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sent to death row, but
acquitted on appeal last year.
Her case swiftly became the most infamous in Pakistan,
drawing worldwide attention to religious extremism in the country and raising
eyebrows among Pakistan's allies.
"The United States welcomes the news that Asia Bibi has
safely reunited with her family," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said
in a statement.
"The United States uniformly opposes blasphemy laws
anywhere in the world, as they jeopardize the exercise of fundamental
freedoms."
Speaking on the floor of the House of Commons on Wednesday,
British Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to confirm that Canada was Bibi's
destination.
"Canada made this offer and we thought it was right and
appropriate that we supported the offer that Canada had made," May said.
Blasphemy carries a maximum death penalty under Pakistan's
penal code.
It is an incendiary issue in the Muslim-majority country,
and mere allegations of insulting Islam have sparked lynchings and vigilante
violence in the past.
"It is a great relief that this shameful ordeal has
finally come to an end and Asia Bibi and her family are safe," said Omar
Waraich, deputy South Asia director at Amnesty International.
"She should never have been imprisoned in the first
place, let alone endure the constant threats to her life. This case
horrifyingly illustrates the dangers of Pakistan's blasphemy laws and the
urgent need to repeal them."
Violent protests
Bibi has technically been free to leave Pakistan since
January, when the Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to her October
acquittal.
Since then, she is widely believed to have been held in
protective custody by authorities as she awaited an asylum deal abroad.
In November, Trudeau said Ottawa was holding talks with
Pakistan about bringing her to Canada, which he said is "a welcoming
country".
Many blasphemy cases in Pakistan see Muslims accusing Muslims,
but rights activists have warned that religious minorities – particularly
Christians – are often caught in the crossfire, with such accusations used to
settle personal scores.
Two politicians have been assassinated in connection with
Bibi's case, and she spent much of her prison time in solitary confinement over
fears she could be attacked by a guard or another prisoner.
Islamist groups have regularly called for her to be
executed, and activists have warned that she would not be safe in Pakistan.
Following Bibi's acquittal in October, the country was
gripped for days by violent protests led by the hardline group Tehreek-e-Labaik
Pakistan (TLP), which called for mutiny in the armed forces and assassination
of the country's top judges for acquitting her.
In the wake of the nationwide protests, TLP's leaders – who
paralyzed the capital Islamabad for weeks in 2017 with an anti-blasphemy sit-in
– were rounded up in a government crackdown months ago and remain in detention.
Christians – who make up around two percent of the
population – occupy one of the lowest rungs in class-obsessed Pakistani
society, largely living in slums and working menial jobs as street sweepers,
cleaners and cooks.
