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An additional sessions court judge in Islamabad granted bail to a minor Christian girl accused of blasphemy. The judge also ordered that the girl, Rimsha Masih, be placed under protective custody, due to security concerns, reports The Dawn. Rimsha, believed to be around 14 years of age and reportedly suffering from some mental disability, was allegedly seen burning pages inscribed with Quranic verses. The news of the desecration spread like wild fire, following which furious locals bashed up Rimsha and her mother. The police later arrested Rimsha on the demand of the locals. Rimsha's lawyer had submitted before the court that the girl was entitled to bail as she was a minor and that the FIR lodged by the police did not say that she desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran. The officer investigating the case told the court that Khalid Jadoon, the cleric who had been accused of tampering evidence, had deliberately added pages of the holy Quran to the plastic bag that the minor girl, who belonged to the Christian community, was carrying. Rimsha had been in judicial custody since August 16. Earlier on Monday, the case was adjourned until September 7 because of a lawyers' strike, following a request from the lawyer for the girl's neighbour Hammad Malik, who had filed the original complaint against her.

Pak Christian girl granted bail in blasphemy case