Islamabad, Nov 1 (IANS) Radical Islamist groups continued to protest and block highways for the second consecutive day in Pakistan on Thursday, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Christian woman Asia Bibi, who had been convicted in 2010 of blasphemy. ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday (Oct 31) freed a Christian woman from a death sentence for blasphemy against Islam and overturned her conviction, sparking angry protests and death threats from an ultra-Islamist party and cheers from human rights advocates. The vast majority of those convicted are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi community, but since the 1990s, scores of Christians have been convicted. Khan warned Islamist protesters on Wednesday night not to “test the patience of the state.”

Bibi remained at an undisclosed location Thursday where the 54-year-old mother of five was being held for security reasons, awaiting her formal release, her brother, James Masih told The Associated Press. If there is no proof against someone, how can we punish them?”

Around 250 protesters blocked the main entry to the capital on the highway connecting Islamabad with Rawalpindi, city police spokesperson Abdul Rehman told Efe news. A female commando, who is part of a team of police and paramilitary troops deployed to protect Bibi, told The Associated Press that Bibi was reading a Bible when the news about her acquittal was conveyed to her. 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. Religious minorities, who have been repeatedly targeted by extremists, fear the law because it is often used to settle scores and to pressure minorities. In 2011, Mulook was the lead prosecutor against Mumtaz Qadri over the assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer -- a prominent critic of the country’s blasphemy laws and supporter of Bibi. Bibi was arrested in 2009 after she was accused of blasphemy following a quarrel with two fellow female farm workers who refused to drink from a water container used by a Christian. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement.
A Pakistani court overturns the death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.