Rimsha Masih

The case against Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani Christian girl, has today been dropped by the court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. "This is the first case of its kind when a person charged under the strict blasphemy laws is exonerated from the accusation," said Naveed Chaudry, one of Rimsha’s lawyers.

The juvenile court hearing of Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl arrested for blasphemy in mid-August and released on bail three weeks later, has been postponed until November 14.

Rimsha Masih and her family will remain in Pakistan after her legal ordeal is over, one of her lawyers says. The teenage Pakistani girl, who was arrested in August on suspicion of desecrating Islamic texts, is due to appear in an Islamabad juvenile court Oct. 17.

Three witnesses whose testimony could absolve a 14-year-old Pakistani girl facing life in prison have changed their statements.

Following the release on bail of a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who was accused last month of blasphemy against Islam, local Christians are living in "shocking conditions" in fear for their lives.

Once in a while in the financial and political chaos, there comes a story or two that make one's heart glad.

A court has ordered that Rimsha Masih, the 14-year-old accused of blasphemy, is to be released into protective custody, on bail security of approximately $10,500.

An unexpected twist in the Rimsha Masih blasphemy case appears to have paved the way for her freedom from apparently false charges of desecrating the Quran. In the meantime, the case has triggered a debate on how Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws are being used to settle personal scores and vendettas.

The story of Rimsha Masih, the 14-year-old girl accused of burning pages from the Quran, has shaken Christian families across Pakistan, and has re-ignited national debate on the blasphemy law.