A Pakistani judge on Friday granted bail to a girl who has spent three weeks in jail after she was arrested for alleged blasphemy.
It is the first time anyone has been released on bail for blasphemy in Pakistan, where the sensitivity of the issue was highlighted by the assassination of two politicians last year.
The case of Rimsha Masih, who was accused by a neighbour of setting fire to papers that contained verses from the Koran, incited particular condemnation because she is under age and said to suffer from learning difficulties.
Judge Muhammad Azam Khan announced the bail to a packed courtroom after hours of chaotic proceedings.
"The bail application has been accepted against two sureties of Rs500,000 ($5,200) each," he said.
Rimsha was arrested in Islamabad suburb on August 16.
Since then, she has been held in the same jail. An official medical report has classified her as "uneducated" and aged 14, but with a mental age younger than her years. Others have said she is as young as 11 and suffers from Downs Syndrome.
Rimsha's lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said she would not be released until Saturday at the earliest and that a date for the next hearing in the case was likely to be fixed in three or four months' time.
"Surety bonds could not be submitted today because the court time has finished. We will submit the surety bonds tomorrow," Chaudhry told AFP.
Asked where will Rimsha go after being released, he said she would be looked after by her family.
"She will be kept in a safe and protected place with her family members," he said.
Her release looked increasingly likely after police on Saturday arrested the cleric who accused her, on suspicion of blasphemy and for planting pages from the Koran among the burnt pages that implicated Rimsha.
Observers say it is unprecedented to see anyone in Pakistan investigated for making a false allegation or interfering with evidence in blasphemy cases.
The US-based Human Rights Watch immediately welcomed Friday's court decision and urged the government to guarantee her security upon release.