Aasia Bibi flies abroad: sources: A junior official denies her release

MULTAN: Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman recently acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a blasphemy case, has been freed from a women prison here, according to sources. According to BBC radio, she has flown abroad with her family. She is accompanied by the Dutch ambassador, the BBC claimed. However, a junior official rejected the claim. Foreign news agencies, BBC and The Guardian also reported her release citing her lawyer Saif-ul-Muluk: ““She has been freed. I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land.” Sources said a 10-member United Nations delegation, including media persons, also visited Multan and they surrounded Aasia Bibi when she was released. However, no jail official was ready to confirm. The sources told Geo News the jail authorities had received documents pertaining to her release earlier in the day after which she was freed.

According to the BBC she was flown to the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi from where she left for the Netherlands. No responsible official concerned was available for comment on this information, but a junior official, requesting anonymity, rejected the report and said she was not freed. The Supreme Court had acquitted Bibi on October 31. The acquittal had led to protests in several cities across the country.