Christian in Pakistan blasphemy case wants to leave for Germany

The Pakistani woman at the centre of a blasphemy case has said she would like to leave the country for Germany, her lawyer said in published remarks on Sunday.

Asia Bibi "would be happy if she could leave for Germany with her family," attorney Saiful Malook told German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Bibi was released from the women's jail in Multan in Punjab province  late Wednesday amid tight security, a week after the Supreme Court suspended her death sentence.

Bibi was sentenced to death by a district court in 2010 for allegedly committing blasphemy in a row with Muslim women while working on a farm. A Supreme Court tribunal led by chief justice Saqib Nisar ordered her immediate release on 31 October. The judgement triggered protest rallies in several cities for three days.  

The Islamist group Tehreek-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called off its protests after the government agreed to not oppose a review petition and to take steps to "bar Bibi from leaving the country."

Malook, who has left the country for the Netherlands amid safety fears, said time was running out to get Bibi to safety.

The German Foreign Office told Bild am Sonntag it is in consultations with the Pakistani authorities.

Several European countries, including Germany, were open to taking in Bibi and her family were she willing and able to leave Pakistan, a Foreign Office spokesman said.

Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih has appealed to the Italian government in Rome to help his family leave Pakistan.    (dpa)