Islamuddin Sajid
09 May 2019•Update: 09 May 2019
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed the departure of Asiya Bibi, a Christian woman who spent eight years on the death row in a blasphemy case before she was acquitted by the top court last year.
"Yes the news is true, Asiya Bibi has left the country for Canada," Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry told reporters during his weekly briefing.
She is free citizen and left the country on her own will, Faisal added.
On Wednesday, an Interior Ministry official and Bibi's Lawyer Saif-ul-Malook were also confirmed Anadolu Agency that she left the country.
"Yes she left Pakistan and arrived in Canada where other members of her family are also living," Malook told Anadolu Agency over the phone.
Bibi's departure could mark the end of a nine-year ordeal she faced after she was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad based on dubious claims.
The case also led to the assassination of a provincial governor, who spoke in favor of Bibi, by his bodyguard.
The farm laborer was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2010, but the sentence was later overturned by the Supreme Court in October of last year sparking countrywide protests by religious extremist groups.
A fire-brand leader who led the protests is currently in jail and facing a trial for inciting violence.
Blasphemy against Islam and Prophet Muhammad is a criminal offense that can carry the death penalty in Pakistan. While the state has never executed anyone under the law, mere allegations have stirred mass protests and violence.
Rights groups observe that the blasphemy law is often exploited to settle personal scores against religious minorities and should be annulled.
