Saddia Mazhar,
Islamabad :Saiful Malook left the country on
Saturday, saying his life was under threat.
His latest victory saw the freeing of Asia Bibi.
Asia Bibi spent nearly a decade on death row,
after the Supreme Court overturned her
sentence on Wednesday.
After supreme Court decision protests start
across the country, with major roads blocked in
Lahore and Islamabad as religious hardliners
called for the death of the judges and those who
helped acquit Bibi.
“ it’s not possible for me to live in Pakistan in
the current scenario, ,” 62-year-old saiful
Malook told AFP before boarding a plane to
Europe early Saturday morning.
“I need to stay alive as I still have to fight the
legal battle for Asia Bibi,” he said.
On Friday night, the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan
party (TLP), which has largely led the
demonstrations, announced an end to mass
protests after reaching a deal with the
government.
A five-point agreement seen by AFP, signed by
both parties, said the government would not
object to an appeal of the verdict, filed earlier in
the Supreme Court.
When asked about the outcry, Malook said it
was “unfortunate but not unexpected”.
“What’s painful is the response of the
government. They cannot even implement an
order of the country’s highest court,” he said,
adding that “the struggle for justice must
continue”.
According to the agreement, which came after a
failed first round of talks, legal proceedings will
follow to impose a travel ban on Bibi and stop
her leaving the country.
“Her life would be more or less the same, either
inside a prison or in solitary confinement for
security fears” until a decision on the appeal,
said Malook.
