 Pakistani lawyers who are contesting the case against Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, speaks to media outside the Supreme court, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Pakistani lawyers who are contesting the case against Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, speaks to media outside the Supreme court, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. Pakistan’s top court in much-awaited landmark ruling on Wednesday acquitted the Christian... (Associated Press) 
 
 ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's top court on Wednesday acquitted a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 on blasphemy charges, a landmark ruling that could ignite mass protests or violence by hard-line Islamists. Islamists in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi and in the northwestern city of Peshawar were also gathering for the protests. Image copyright ARSHAD ARBAB Image caption Demonstrations have been held in several cities including Peshawar 
 
 Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who read out the ruling, said Asia Bibi could walk free from jail in Sheikupura, near Lahore, immediately if not wanted in connection with any other case. In previous hearings her attorney, Saiful Malook, pointed to contradictions in testimony from witnesses. A few days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy. Asia Bibi's lawyer, closely flanked by a policeman, told me he was "happy" with the verdict, but also afraid for his and his client's safety. Shortly after her conviction a prominent politician, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, was murdered for speaking out in her support and calling for the blasphemy laws to be reformed. The assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, has been celebrated as a martyr by hard-liners since he was hanged for the killing, with millions visiting a shrine set up for him near Islamabad. The mere rumor of blasphemy can ignite mob violence and lynchings in Pakistan, and combatting alleged blasphemy has become a central rallying cry for hard-line Islamists. But critics say the laws have often been used to get revenge after personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence. Bibi's case was closely followed internationally amid concern for Pakistan's religious minorities, who have frequently come under attack by extremists in recent years. Asia Bibi, who was born in 1971 and has four children, was the first woman to be sentenced to death under the laws. Image copyright AFP Image caption Asia Bibi's husband and daughter say they fear for their safety in Pakistan 
 
 As with her previous trials and appeals, large crowds gathered outside the court in Islamabad on Wednesday demanding her conviction be upheld and the execution carried out. She has been held at an undisclosed location for security reasons and is expected to leave the country.
– Authorities in Pakistan are braced for massive protests after the acquittal of a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 for alleged blasphemy against Islam. Asia Bibi was accused of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed in a 2009 argument with farmworkers who refused to drink water from a container used by a Christian, the BBC reports. Judges on Pakistan's top court ruled that she had been sentenced on flimsy evidence, and a "confession" had been delivered in front of an angry crowd that was threatening to kill her. Her family says she never insulted the prophet. The judges ordered the release of Bibi, a mother of five who has spent most of the last eight years in solitary confinement. She was moved to an undisclosed location and is expected to leave the country, the AP reports. "I am very happy. My children are very happy," husband Ashiq Masih said. "We are grateful to God. We are grateful to the judges for giving us justice. We knew that she is innocent." Hardline Islamist clerics have called for rallies across the country to protest Bibi's release and security has been stepped up at churches. (In 2011, Pakistan's minister for religious minorities and the governor of Punjab province were assassinated for supporting changes to the country's blasphemy law.)