Her head was hooded as she was bundled from an armoured personnel carrier into a helicopter to fly her from Adiala prison in Rawalpindi to a secret location where her family was waiting.
Heavily armed police stood guard amid fears that religious hard-liners would try to take the law into their own hands.
Once inside the helicopter Rimsha lifted off the hood to reveal a tired and very frightened face.
Her parents say she is 11 years of age although a medical report concluded she was 14 but with a lower mental age.
Jailing such a young and vulnerable girl has been deeply embarrassing for Pakistan, bringing international condemnation and exposing the way the country’s minorities face persecution.
On Friday a judge ordered her release on bail after witnesses came forward to say they had seen a Muslim cleric planting pages of the Koran in ashes she was carrying.
By Rob Crilly
