Pakistan adjourns hearing of Christian woman on death row
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Saiful Malook, left, lawyer of Pakistani Christian woman Aasia Bibi briefs media with Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, Pakistan. Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016. Pakistan's supreme court has adjourned an appeal from a Christian woman Aasia Bibi who has been on death row on blasphemous charges since 2010 after one of the judges refused to hear the case citing a possible conflict of interest. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (The Associated Press)
Pakistan's top court has adjourned the appeals hearing for Christian woman convicted of blasphemy who has been on death row since 2010.
A Supreme Court judge on Thursday refused to hear the case of Aasia Bibi, citing a possible conflict of interest. Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, says no new hearing date has been set.
The case has drawn international condemnation of Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws. Bibi was arrested after a quarrel with Muslim women in eastern Punjab province and accused of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, a charge she repeatedly denied.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pakistani Islamists have been demanding Bibi's execution and two officials, a governor and a minorities' minister, were killed in 2011 for supporting her.
Rallies also took place on Thursday in the cities of Lahore and Karachi, demanding Bibi's execution.