Pakistani Islamist party calls for death of judges who freed Christian woman sentenced for blasphemy

A hard-line Islamist party in Pakistan on Wednesday called for the death of the chief justice of the Supreme Court and two other judges who overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.

The leader of the Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party also called for the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan's government over the case of Asia Bibi, who was ordered freed by a Supreme Court panel earlier in the day.

"The patron in chief of TLP, Muhammad Afzal Qadri, has issued the edict that says the chief justice and all those who ordered the release of Asia deserve death," said party spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi.

The party has launched street protests blocking roads in major cities to condemn the ruling, which was welcomed by human rights advocates.