Vanishing act of Christian in Pak death row baffles all

A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row falsely charged with blasphemy has left the country, her lawyer and media said on Wednesday, more than six months after she was acquitted by Pakistan's top court.

Pakistani and Canadian officials have not officially commented on Asia Bibi's reported departure, perhaps due to the sensitive nature of her case. Bibi's release in October sparked rioting by hardline Islamists, who rejected the Supreme Court's verdict and warned Prime Minister Imran Khan's government that she must not be allowed to leave the country.

They also called for Bibi, who has been staying at an undisclosed location under tight security, to be killed. "I have inquired within available channels, and according to them she has left for Canada," Bibi's lawyer, Saif Ul Malook, said. Pakistani TV channels Geo and ARY, citing unidentified sources, also reported Bibi had left the country.

Pakistan's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment. A Canadian government spokeswoman said in an emailed statement: "Global Affairs Canada has no comment." In November, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was in talks with Pakistan about helping Bibi, whose family are believed to be outside Pakistan. She is widely expected to seek asylum and diplomats say she will have no problems.

Pakistan's Supreme Court in January upheld its earlier verdict to free Bibi, but Pakistani officials have worried that her sudden departure could trigger further riots. Islamists have criticising the government and the military for caving in to what they call pressure from the Western world. Bibi, a farm worker and a mother of four, was convicted in 2010 of making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours working in the fields with her objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

Her case has outraged Christians worldwide and has been a source of division within Pakistan, where two politicians who sought to help her were assassinated, including Punjab province governor Salman Taseer, shot by his own bodyguard. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was "fantastic news that Asia Bibi appears to have left Pakistan safely".

Hunt, who is due to discuss persecution of Christians with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England, tweeted that Bibi's freedom "shows that with concerted effort the right thing can happen".

-Saad Sayeed