Imran Khan's stance against religious hardliners draws praise

Imran Khan's stance against religious hardliners draws praise Imran Khan in his speech Wednesday warned extremists protesting the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.

Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious political party, chant slogans in Lahore November 1 during a sit-in protest following the Supreme Court acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi. [Arif Ali/AFP]

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan won praise for his stance against religious hardliners Thursday (October 31), as demonstrators blocked major roads to protest the Supreme Court's overturning of a blasphemy conviction.

Khan has vowed to confront extremists who called for the assassination of the country’s Supreme Court justice and for mutiny against the army’s top brass, after the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy.

"We will protect people's properties and lives; we will not allow any sabotage," Khan said in a nationally televised address Wednesday.