Editor's Note: This article initially attributed a number of statements to Wilson Chowdhry, a representative of the British Pakistani Christian Association. After publication, Chowdhry and another representative of the group alerted HuffPost to problems with those attributions. An internal review determined that HuffPost UK did not accurately report his remarks and represented paraphrases of some comments as direct quotes. HuffPost has updated the article to verify our reporting and has removed the erroneous statements. HuffPost apologizes to Mr. Chowdhry and to our readers. Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy, is expected to move to Canada after receiving offers of asylum from different countries. Several senior officials across the Canadian government told HuffPost Canada they are actively working to secure her release but won't confirm details due to safety concerns for Bibi and diplomats. The news comes as Pakistan's top court rejected a challenge to the acquittal of the mother-of-five on blasphemy charges, after she was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence, sparking fears of civil unrest which plagued her release last year.<doc-sep>Asia Bibi was arrested in 2009 for allegedly using derogatory words during a quarrel with Muslim women. A US lawmaker has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to grant asylum to Pakistani woman Asia Bibi, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case, claiming she was "persecuted" in the Muslim-majority country for being a Christian. A three-member Supreme Court bench threw out a petition seeking to review the top court's decision to acquit 47-year-old Asia Bibi on Tuesday. Asia Bibi, a mother of four, was arrested in 2009 for allegedly using derogatory words during a quarrel with Muslim women while working on a farm in Punjab province. Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 by the trial court and her death sentence was maintained by the Lahore High Court in 2014. The top court overturned her conviction last year, sparking days of violent demonstrations led by hardline Islamist parties. "Asia Bibi has been persecuted, jailed and threatened for doing nothing more than being a Christian in Pakistan," Congressman Ken Calvert said. The recent decision by Pakistan's top court to overturn Asia Bibi's death sentence and free her from jail is obviously welcome news, the lawmaker said. "However, Asia continues to be in danger and is the subject of incendiary rhetoric by radical Islamist leaders. That's why it's essential for Congress and other defenders of religious freedom to stand up and protect her," Mr Calvert said. Recognising the importance of granting asylum to those with legitimate claims of persecution for their religion, race, nationality, membership in a social group, or political belief, the resolution supports granting asylum in the United States to Asia Bibi and her immediate family. Pakistani media reports on Thursday said Asia Bibi may leave the country shortly as there are threats to her life. Her two daughters have already shifted to Canada. Pakistan said on Thursday that Asia Bibi was a free citizen and has the right to travel anywhere inside the country or abroad. Asia Bibi's case gained prominence when former governor of Pakistan's Punjab province Salman Taseer was killed in 2011 for supporting her and criticising the blasphemy laws. A month after Salman Taseer was killed, Pakistan's religious minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who spoke out against the blasphemy law, was shot dead in Islamabad. The blasphemy laws were promulgated by former military dictator Ziaul Haq in 1980s. A person convicted under these laws is given death sentence.<doc-sep>Asia Bibi, the Christian farm labourer who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy, is expected to leave the country after the supreme court upheld her acquittal. The court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to October’s ruling brought by an extreme Islamist party, which led violent protests across the country in the autumn and called for Bibi to be killed. Bibi, who has been held at a secret location since her death sentence was overturned, could be flown out of the country within hours. Two of her children are reportedly already in Canada, which has offered Bibi asylum. After the ruling, Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, suggested that she could leave Pakistan imminently. “I think at this time she is here [in Pakistan] – but by tonight, I don’t know,” he told reporters outside the court. Extremists had “said they would kill her despite the judgment of the supreme court. Therefore, I think she should leave the country.” The supreme court’s decision was welcomed by Christian and human rights campaigners, who have lobbied western countries to offer sanctuary to Bibi, her husband and five children. In November, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, said his country was in talks with Pakistan about helping her. Australia, Spain and France are also thought to have offered sanctuary. Chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa, one of a three-judge panel that considered the petition, said: “Based on merit, this review petition is dismissed.” He added: “The image of Islam we are showing to the world gives me much grief and sorrow.” Malook, who returned to Islamabad at the weekend after fleeing to the Netherlands amid death threats following October’s ruling, called the decision a victory for Pakistan’s constitution and rule of law. The court had “insisted on very strict proofs of blasphemy” and found none, he said. In a statement, Amnesty International said Bibi should be free “to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice”. John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, which campaigned on behalf of Bibi and her family, said: “This is a victory for the rule of law in Pakistan and promises to draw a line under a miscarriage of justice that has cost almost 10 years of pain and suffering for Asia Bibi and her family. We are all so happy for them. “Now, please God, Asia can be reunited with all her family and together rebuild their lives in a new and safe environment.” Zoe Smith of Open Doors, which campaigns against Christian persecution around the world, said: “We are overjoyed that justice has prevailed and are praying that this heralds a new era of equal rights for Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan.” She added: “Asia and her family’s safety remains of paramount importance. Many Christians will still be praying for their safety.” David Alton, a peer who advocates for religious freedom, said: “We cannot forget that Asia Bibi’s case is one of many, and that, by some estimates, more than 70 people are currently on death-row for alleged blasphemy crimes.” Bibi now needed to be “given time and space to rebuild her life”. But Hafiz Ehtisham Ahmed, an Islamist activist linked to the extremist Red Mosque in Islamabad, said Bibi may not be safe wherever she goes. “She deserves to be murdered according to sharia. If she goes abroad, don’t Muslims live there? If she goes out of Pakistan … anybody can kill her there,” she told AFP. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, which was formed to defend Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and which led violent protests demanding Bibi’s execution after her acquittal, called on Tuesday for its members to be ready for action. However, most of its leaders are in detention after a government crackdown, and there were few protesters at the court in Islamabad. Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 in what swiftly became Pakistan’s most infamous blasphemy case. She had been accused by Muslim villagers of insulting the prophet Muhammad in a row over a cup of water. She always insisted she was innocent. Blasphemy is a highly inflammatory issue in Pakistan, where even unproven accusations of insulting Islam can spark lynchings. Human rights activists say blasphemy charges are frequently used to settle personal scores. After the supreme court overturned her conviction, cities across Pakistan were paralysed for several days by violent demonstrations with enraged extremists calling for her beheading. In a deal to end the violence, the government, led by the prime minister, Imran Khan, struck a deal allowing the petition seeking an appeal against the supreme court’s judgment. Khan was accused of capitulating to the extremists’ demands.<doc-sep>
Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of a Christian woman who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, ruling that she is now free to leave the country where she’s facing death threats. Asia Bibi previously spent eight years on death row before being acquitted last October, now may leave Pakistan and join her daughters, who have fled to Canada where they have been given asylum. The top court’s ruling came after radical Islamic parties filed a last-minute appeal of the acquittal following days of protests, The appeal tried to overturn the ruling and send Bibi back to prison where she would be executed for blasphemy. ASIA BIBI, CHRISTIAN WOMAN ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY, SEEKS ASYLUM AMID VIOLENT PROTESTS Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, who had to flee the country over death threat, said the decision was a victory for Pakistan’s constitution and rule of law. The Supreme Court panel had “insisted on very strict proofs of blasphemy” and couldn’t find any in the case, he said. Pakistan’s Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said Bibi’s accusers were guilty of perjury and if the case hadn’t been so sensitive, they would have been jailed for life. “The image of Islam we are showing to the world gives me much grief and sorrow,” Khosa said. DC COMICS TO RELEASE CONTROVERSIAL 'SECOND COMING' OF JESUS Bibi, who is currently in hiding, reportedly said that she will be leaving the country for Canada, where her daughters are living. “I am really gratefully to everybody, now after nine years it is confirmed that I am free and I will be going to hug my daughters,” a friend quoted Bibi as saying. GET THE FOX NEWS APP Bibi was initially accused of insulting Islam’s prophet in 2009 after an argument broke out between her and fellow farmworkers who refused to drink from the same container as Bibi because she was a Christian and they were Muslim. A number of radical clerics were arrested following the protests in the aftermath of her acquittal as they were inciting violence against Bibi. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Party, led by radical cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, said Monday that they won’t accept any decision in favor of Bibi’s release and asked its followers to prepare for more mass protests. The Associated Press contributed to this report.