Amnesty International has welcomed the decision to grant bail to Rimsha Masih, but says Pakistan must urgently reform its blasphemy laws.

Church officials in Pakistan say they are encouraged by the arrest of a cleric on charges of framing an illiterate Christian teenager on blasphemy charges.

A special court in Pakistan has suspended the trial of suspects in a massacre of Christians in 2009, after a key witness fled the country.

The Pakistani government should immediately drop blasphemy charges against a 17-year-old student and ensure his safe release from detention.