UPDATES WITH GOVT NEGOTIATION, DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE
By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Thousands of people blocked roads across Pakistan on Thursday to protest the acquittal of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted Aasia Bibi who was sentenced to death by a district court in November 2010 for blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
The protests cut off scores of cities and towns from capital Islamabad and provincial capitals, suspending traffic.
Angry mobs of religious activists — mainly belonging to newly-emerged Sunni group, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) — staged sit in on key roads in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Multan, and other major cities.
The government shut down all the schools, colleges, and universities in the affected cities.
The sit-in at the entrance route of Islamabad suspended traffic between the capital and Rawalpindi, a garrison city in the northeastern Punjab province, which houses the headquarters of the country’s powerful army.
The traffic between Islamabad and Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was suspended due to the closure of motorway.
The historic Grand Trunk (GT) road, which connects Lahore, the country’s second largest city and the capital of Punjab province, to several cities and towns, including Peshawar, was also blocked at several portions by the infuriated protesters.
Thousands of policemen, paramilitary troops, and rangers were deployed across the country.
Prime Minister Imran Khan formed a committee to hold talks with the religious groups.
During negotiations, local broadcasters reported, the protesters agreed to end agitation after filing a review petition in the Supreme Court.
The petition filed by a protester demanded that Bibi be barred from leaving the country, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said in a tweet.
However, Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, firebrand cleric and leader of TLP, in a tweet said his party will not end the protest.
Bibi is likely to leave the country as her family fears for safety.
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.
