Asia Bibi’s plight illuminates Pakistan’s ongoing struggle between democratic modernity and extremist Islam. Bibi is a Roman Catholic who has spent years in detention after being sentenced to death for insulting Pakistan’s Islamic faith – a ridiculous charge, considering the facts of her case.

The nation’s supreme court overturned Bibi’s conviction last week, ruling it unjustified. That ruling would have both figuratively and literally closed the case, but for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Facing protests by fanatical Islamists longing to see Bibi lynched, the arch-populist Khan is preventing Bibi leaving Pakistan for sanctuary in the west. The implication is that Khan will find a way to see Bibi retried or at least held under permanent house arrest. In this battle over Bibi’s fate; between the supreme court, the government, and Islamist mobs, we see Pakistan’s modern struggle for a better democracy.