Three days after the acquittal of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan, Islamists have halted their nationwide protests on the basis of an agreement with the government: The radical Islamic group Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) called on the government on Friday for a re-examination If agreed, as TLP spokesman Pir Zubair Kasuri said.

According to the agreement, "the government will not oppose an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court on the acquittal of Asia Bibi". In addition, steps were taken to "prevent Bibi from leaving the country". Minister of Religion Noor-Ul-Haq Qadri and Minister of Information Fayazulhasan Chohan confirmed the agreement that the agreement signed by the Islamists and the government lay before AFP.

The street protests erupted on Wednesday, after the blasphemy-sentenced Christin Asia Bibi was acquitted by the Supreme Court in Islamabad. Previously, she had spent eight years on death row. The now 51-year-old was accused of having made disparaging remarks about the Prophet Muhammad in a dispute with Muslim women in their village.

In 2009, the fivefold mother was arrested and sentenced to death after a controversial blasphemy law in the predominantly Muslim country. The judges had now found that the allegations were legally weak.

Unclear location Bibis

After the annulment of the death sentence, the TLP demanded the dismissal of the judges and an execution of Bibi. The extremists protested in the streets and, according to the police, blocked one of the main access roads to the capital Islamabad. For fear of violent riots nationwide schools were closed.

Pakistan's government sent military to several major cities in the country to protect its offices. Tensions in Pakistan were exacerbated on Friday by the news that Pakistan's major religious leader, Sami Ul-Haq, was killed.

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Protests in Peshawar

For the current residence Bibis there were initially no official information. Local media reports indicated she may have fled Pakistan. According to the "German wave", however, she should still be in prison.

Bibi's lawyer Saiful Malook has left Pakistan Saturday morning for fear of his life. "The safety of my family is also seriously threatened," said Malook accordingly. But he will return to defend Bibi in court if the military gives him security. The Islamists' violent reaction to the verdict was "sad, but not unexpected," he said. "Painful", however, is the answer of the government. "You can not even implement a ruling from the highest court in the country," he regretted.

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Pakistan: protests after acquittal

Human rights activists criticized the agreement between the government and Islamists in Pakistan as a "declaration of bankruptcy of the rule of law". "The deal makes Pakistan's legal system the prey of the Islamist mob." If the Supreme Court had spoken out, the government should not allow Islamists to override jurisdiction, said the director of the Society for Threatened Peoples, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Saturday.

The case had caused a stir around the world. Only in Pakistan itself was the public out of fear of extremists. Two politicians campaigning for Bibi were killed.