Officials in Pakistan have ordered that a Christian woman, acquitted of charges of blasphemy last week after spending eight years on death row, must not leave Pakistan in order to end violent protests over the ruling. Campaigners blasted the deal as akin to signing her “death warrant”.

Asia Bibi, a wife and mother of five, was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours.

Her lawyer, Saif Mulook, told the BBC earlier this week she would need to move to a Western country for her own safety. A number of attempts have previously been made on her life and several countries have offered her asylum. Now Mr Mulook has had to leave the country so he could continue to represent her safely. Mr Mulook said: “I need to stay alive as I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi.”

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry defended the government against allegations that a deal reached with an Islamist party was capitulating to extremists. Mr Mulook, however, called the agreement “painful”.

“They cannot even implement an order of the country’s highest court,” he told AFP before he boarded the plane to Europe.