Top trend: #IStandWithSupremeCourt, #JusticeForAsia on Twitter

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis took to social media to express their opinions on Saturday after the government signed an agreement with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to end countrywide protest sit-ins against the Supreme Court’s acquittal of Asia Bibi, Geo news reported.

Protests had erupted after the apex court on Wednesday acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row since 2010 when she was convicted on blasphemy charges. The protesters had blocked several roads, paralysing routine life in major cities as mobile phone networks were blocked and schools shut down in light of the law and order situation.

But, despite Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stern warning to agitators against challenging the state earlier in the week, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government reached a five-point agreement with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) late Friday night to end the protests.

In the agreement, the government agreed not to object to a review petition against the court’s verdict and to follow "due legal process" to bar Asia Bibi from leaving the country until a decision on the review plea.

On Saturday, Pakistanis on Twitter used the hashtags #IStandWithSupremeCourt and #JusticeForAsia to express their opinions on the issue.

Prominent human rights activist and lawyer, Mohammad Jibran Nasir, started the hashtag with a tweet urging citizens to share their opinions on the verdict, the government’s agreement, and putting Asia’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL).