Ottawa (Web Desk): Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his government is in discussions with Islamabad about granting asylum to Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman recently acquitted by the Supreme Court in blasphemy case.
Mr Trudeau confirmed a foreign news agency that his government was looking into bringing her to Canada.
"There is a delicate domestic context that we respect which is why I don't want to say any more about that, but I will remind people Canada is a welcoming country," he said.
Asia Bibi, sometimes known as Asia Noreen, was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours the previous year.
The mother-of-five was the first female non-Muslim charged under the country's blasphemy laws. The laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam.
Asia Bibi was released from a prison in Multan city of Pakistan after the apex court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case against Bibi.
The apex court decision set off a wave of protests across the length and breadth of Pakistan which ended after three-days following an agreement with government.
Asia Bibi's husband has said the family is in danger and has pleaded for asylum from the UK, US or Canada. Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, has been granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands after facing death threats.
