Insulting Islam’s prophet is punishable by death under Pakistani law, and blasphemy accusations stir such emotions that they are almost impossible to defend against. Dozens have been killed following blasphemy claims, sometimes by mobs of men.
TLP won more than two million votes in the July 25 elections, though it has no parliamentarians in the National Assembly and only holds two provincial seats. But it wields outsized influence due to street power of its die-hard supporters.
In November, TLP staged a crippling blockade of the capital after a tweak to a religious oath, which it claims was tantamount to blasphemy. Seven people were killed and more than 200 wounded in clashes with the police.
Bibi was sentenced to death for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim. She has always denied blaspheming and her representatives have claimed she was involved in a dispute with her neighbours.
Rights groups say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.