Lawyer: Charges against cleric dropped in Pakistan blasphemy case
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A lawyer says a Pakistani court has dismissed charges against the cleric who accused a young Christian girl of blasphemy and had been arrested for allegedly forging evidence against her.
Wajid Gilani said a district judge in Islamabad granted his motion to acquit his client Khalid Chishti. He says the judge ruled that the prosecution had not brought forward evidence sufficient to convict.
Chishti had accused the young girl of burning pages of Islam's holy book last year. Weeks later, he was arrested for allegedly planting pages of a Quran in a shopping bag containing burned papers and ash.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The girl, who now has taken refuge in Canada along with her family, had spent three weeks in jail before being released on bail after the sudden twist in the case.