Fake images show acquitted Christian woman leaving Pakistan

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry slammed the postings on Monday, one of which claims to show Bibi meeting Pope Francis. The photo is actually of Bibi’s daughter from two years ago.

November 12, 2018 12:38 pm | Updated 12:38 pm IST - ISLAMABAD:

In this Nov. 20, 2010, file photo, Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, listens to officials at a prison in Sheikhupura near Lahore, Pakistan.

In this Nov. 20, 2010, file photo, Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, listens to officials at a prison in Sheikhupura near Lahore, Pakistan.

Pakistan’s government struggling with a crisis surrounding Aasia Bibi a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy charges after eight years on death row now has to deal with “fake” images on social media purporting to show her leaving the country.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry slammed the postings on Monday, one of which claims to show Bibi meeting Pope Francis. The photo is actually of Bibi’s daughter from two years ago.

Mr. Chaudhry says the images misidentifying Bibi prompted death threats to a lawmaker in one photograph.

Radical Islamists have blocked Bibi’s freedom and demanded she be publicly executed. They’ve also filed a petition to repeal her Supreme Court acquittal.

The government says Bibi remains in Pakistan, at a secret location for her own protection, until the review process is finished.

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