Threatened in Pakistan, Rimsha Masih escapes to Canada

Rimsha and her family, who have been receiving threats, journeyed in secret to Canada.

The Christian girl who was acquitted of blasphemy charges, has been living in Canada for a few weeks, CBC News Canada reported on Saturday.

Masih, whose family was receiving threats despite an acquittal from the Islamabad High Court of blasphemy charges, journeyed in secret to an undisclosed location in Canada just weeks ago, according to Peter Bhatti, who runs a Christian organisation that is helping the family settle in Canada.

Bhatti said the Rimsha and her family have been granted special permission by the Canadian government to live there and that they are all relieved and happy.

"She is doing wonderful. She is studying in school, every day, she going to school, she is learning, she is starting to talk more," he told CBC.

Rimsha, believed to be no older than 14, was accused of burning pages from a noorani qaida (elementary religious book with verses of the Holy Quran) — a move that led to global condemnation and concerns about the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan.

IHC Chief Justice Rehman stated in the verdict that on one hand the complainant in the FIR said that the accused carried a polythene bag containing verses of the Holy Quran but he failed to explain how he had suspected it when the verses were not visible from the bag.

The charges against Rimsha had led to the exodus of dozens of Christian families from the neighbourhood after cleric Chishti, the imam of a mosque, allegedly issued a decree on his mosque’s loudspeaker to burn Christians of the Mehrabadi village alive.

Rimsha was detained for three weeks in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and was granted bail on September 6. The detention led to global condemnation and concerns by rights organisations.