[DAWN] Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Pir Noorul Haq Qadri said on Monday that Aasia Bibi, who was recently acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case, was still in Pakistain and would not leave the country till the "finalisation of legal process"."Aasia Bibi is very much in Pakistain as I address this august gathering," the minister said while addressing a Tahafuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat conference here.
He dispelled the rumours of Aasia Bibi leaving the country as "mere propaganda".
As far as any alteration in the Section 295-C (blasphemy law) of the Pakistain Penal Code (PPC) was concerned, he said it was very much part of the Constitution and the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
government did not intend to change it. He added the government would rather "defend" the blasphemy law "on every forum".
Canada in talks with Pakistan over possibly taking in Asia Bibi[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that his government was holding talks with Pakistain over potentially offering asylum to Asia Bibi, a Christian woman recently freed from prison after her blasphemy conviction was overturned.
"We are in discussions with the Pak government," Trudeau said in an interview with AFP in Gay Paree, where he was attending a peace conference organised by French President Emmanuel Macron.
"There is a delicate domestic context that we respect which is why I don’t want to say any more about that, but I will remind people Canada is a welcoming country," he said.
Bibi has been blocked from leaving Pakistain after the overturning of her conviction prompted a wave of protests among Islamist hard-liners.
She has since been flown to a "safe place" in the country as several governments have offered to grant her family asylum.