LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan on Thursday freed a hardline Islamist leader a week after removing his name from terrorism watch list, under a deal to end weeks of deadly protests by his followers over an alleged anti-blasphemy campaign, a government officials and his lawyer said.

       Saad Hussain Rizvi, the chief of a Sunni militant group - Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) - was released from a jail in Lahore city, a government spokesman Hasaan Khawar told Reuters.

       "By the grace of God, he is a free man now," said his lawyer Muhammad Rizwan.

       (Writing by Asif Shahzad; editing by Philippa Fletcher)