LAHORE, Pakistan, November 5, 2018 (Morning Star News) – The Pakistani government on Friday (Nov. 2) capitulated to demands of Islamist groups protesting the acquittal of Christian mother Aasiya Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, by agreeing to allow the possibility of a Supreme Court review of the verdict.
In the agreement between administration officials and leaders of an Islamic extremist group, the government also agreed to prohibit Noreen from leaving the country until the high court decides whether to review the petition.
The government found itself amid hurricane-force pressures as violent protests over the acquittal paralyzed routine life in several cities for three days, raising fears of civil war in a country already on the brink of an economic meltdown.
Soon after a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar announced on Wednesday (Oct. 31) the acquittal of Noreen, who has been incarcerated for nearly nine years on fabricated charges of blasphemy, thousands of supporters of the Islamic extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) blocked main roads and highways in several Pakistani cities. Some resorted to vandalism and violence to pressure the government against releasing the Christian mother of two children and stepmother to three.
Led by firebrand clerics Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Pir Afzal Qadri, the TLP is…
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