FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl accused of blasphemy, sits in a helicopter on Sept. 8, 2012, after her release from jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
The Christian girl who was wrongly jailed for blasphemy in Pakistan has a new place to call home: Canada.
Rimsha Masih, believed to be 15 or 16, settled with her family in the Toronto area four months ago after they were granted asylum following her controversial case. A court found that she had been falsely accused of burning pages from the Koran — a crime that carries the death penalty.
Masih celebrated her first Canada Day on July 1 surrounded by 15 family members and friends, the Toronto Sun reported.
© STRINGER PAKISTAN / REUTERS/REUTERS
Security officials escort Rimsha Masih to a helicopter after her release from Adyala jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Her new life comes as thousands of miles away, the Supreme Court in Pakistan looks to reopen her case this week.
Masih’s initial accuser, who claimed he saw the burned book in her bag, petitioned the Supreme Court to rehear the case even though the Islamabad High Court threw out the charges, the Pakistan Christian Post reported.
STR/EPA
Pakistani police escort Muslim cleric Khalid Jadoon Chishti following a hearing in September 2012 at a court in Islamabad. Chishti was later jailed for planting evidence in the girl’s bag.
Whether the case can gain renewed momentum isn’t clear.
Canada’s immigration minister said he had been following Masih’s plight, and decided to act after a Pakistani contacted him in January about her seeking refuge there.
“I said absolutely, if they could get her out,” Kenney told The Canadian Press last month. “So a number of people did some very dangerous, delicate work to extricate her and her family from Pakistan, and we provided the necessary visas.”
NADEEM KHAWER/EPA
Pakistani Christians carry crosses during a protest against the imprisonment of Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl accused of burning pages of the Koran.
Masih and her family can apply for permanent residency, Kenney added.
Her arrest last August in Pakistan under the country’s strict — but popular — blasphemy laws drew international outrage.
W. KHAN/EPA
Rimsha Masih is seen behind the windscreen of a Pakistan Air Force helicopter.
The girl’s neighbors surrounded her home and accused her of desecrating the Islamic holy book. Her supporters feared for her life and stressed that she had the mental capacities of someone younger.
But an imam identified as Khalid Jadoon Chishti was later jailed after police say he planted evidence in her bag to frame her.
Although Masih was acquitted in court, her family still feared for her life.
Christians make up a small sliver of the population in Pakistan — around 4% of its nearly 180 million people — and say they are targets under the blasphemy laws.
There have also been reports of assassinations and retaliation against those linked to speaking ill of Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
Even after Masih’s acquittal, those in her village expressed support for the imam and said that the girl should still be punished.
Read more: NY Daily News
Why are muslims fighting for their god, coz they know it cant fight.
For We Christians Our GOD fights for us.
And he will keep on fighting for us and for the Christian girl.
JESUS Is LORD.