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Islamabad (AFP) – The Pakistani lawyer who rescued a Christian found guilty of gallows blasphemy left the country on Saturday, claiming that his life was threatened.
Saif-ul-Mulook's latest victory was marked by the release of Asia Bibi, who spent nearly a decade on death row, after the Supreme Court overturned her sentencing on Wednesday.
The decision triggered protests across the country. Important roads were blocked in Lahore and Islamabad, while religious extremists demanded the death of judges and people who helped acquit Bibi.
"In the current scenario, it is not possible for me to live in Pakistan," said 62-year-old AFP before flying to early Europe. Saturday morning.
"I have to stay alive because I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi," he said.
Blasphemy is an extremely inflammatory charge in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insult to Islam and its Prophet Muhammad can cause death by militia.
On Friday night, the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which largely led the protests, announced the end of the mass protests after the conclusion of an agreement with the government.
A five-point agreement seen by AFP, signed by both sides, indicated that the government would not oppose an appeal of the verdict, previously filed in the Supreme Court.
Asked about the Islamist uproar, Mulook said it was "unfortunate but not unexpected."
"What is painful is the government's response, they can not even implement an order from the highest court in the country," he said, adding that "the fight for justice must continue ".
According to the agreement reached after the failure of the first round of negotiations, a lawsuit will ensue to impose a ban on traveling to Bibi and prevent him from leaving the country.
"His life would be more or less the same, whether it's in a prison or in solitary confinement for security reasons" until a decision on the appeal is forthcoming. said Mulook.
The deal was criticized by local media and the country's oldest newspaper, Dawn, called it a "new surrender" in an editorial released on Saturday.
"Another government has surrendered to violent religious extremists who do not believe in democracy or the constitution," reads the text.
The TLP, founded in 2015, blocked the capital Islamabad for several weeks last year, calling for stricter enforcement of Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws.
The protest forced the federal minister of law to resign and allowed the group to win more than 2.23 million votes in the July 25 general election, which analysts described as "rising" surprisingly. quick.
