[Al Jazeera] Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan... aka
Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
has appealed for calm after far-right protesters blocked roads in several major cities following the Supreme Court's acquittal of a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges.
Aasia Bibi, 53, who has been death row for eight years, was acquitted by the country's top court on Wednesday morning.
Bibi's case had become emblematic of fair trial concerns in cases Pakistain’s strict blasphemy laws, and on Wednesday judges found there had been "glaring and stark" contradictions in the prosecution's case against her.
The announcement of the verdict prompted thousands to protest across the country, rallied by the far-right Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) political party and religious organization.
The TLP, headed by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, has campaigned on the issue of blasphemy for years and has been calling for Bibi to be executed since its inception.
On Wednesday, TLP leader Afzal Qadri called for the three Supreme Court judges who heard Bibi’s appeal to be killed.
"[The judges] who have ordered the release of the accused Aasia are all liable to be killed under religious edict," said Qadri at a protest in the eastern city of Lahore.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Khan rebuked the TLP for taking the law into their own hands, accusing them of stirring up religious sentiments for political gain.
"I say to these people: do not confront this state ... do not damage this country for your vote bank," said Khan.
"If you do this, I promise that the government will do its duty ... I ask you: do not force the government to have to take action."
Blasphemy against Islam and its Prophet is a sensitive subject in Pakistain, where the crime can carry a compulsory death sentence.