Pakistani Leader Won't Change Blasphemy Law

Archbishop Calls for Respect for All Religions

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, FEB. 4, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani asserted on Wednesday that the government has no intention of amending the blasphemy law.

The Catholic bishops have joined with several NGOs to request “liberty of conscience and of expression to halt the growing extremism in the country,” L’Osservatore Romano reported.

The prime minister also affirmed before the Pakistani parliament that “deputy Sherry Rehman, former leader of Pakistan’s Popular Party, has agreed to withdraw the proposal of amendment [of the blasphemy law] that she placed before the legislative assembly.”

When pressed for a clarification of his position on the controversial law, he stated, “The government has not presented any bill and has not instituted any committee for its revision.”

Gillani stressed that “controls will be reinforced to avoid abuses of the law on blasphemy.” He appealed to religious groups not to make a distorted use of this normative.

Meanwhile, during a meeting held recently in Lahore with more than 500 participants, the National Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistan Episcopal Conference invited the government “to separate religion from state issues.”

Hina Dilani, president of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, said she was worried about “the current mentality, with religious parties that use their power to obtain political advantages and journalists and television presenters that back the opinions of those who wish to ban religious habits.”

Prayer and protest

On Sunday, Christians in Pakistan observed a day of prayer and fasting to ask, among other things, for the abolition of the law on blasphemy.

On the same day, around 40,000 people protested on the streets (Christians are not allowed to) against the release of Asia Bibi, a woman accused of blasphemy, and against any modification of the law.

Some radical Muslim groups burned Christian symbols and effigies that represented the Catholic minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti.

Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore reported: “Radical Muslims burned Christian symbols. This upsets us very much and wounds our sentiments of Christian faithful.”

He continued, “We disassociate ourselves from every violent act and ask for respect for all sacred symbols, regardless of the religion to which they belong.”

According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, Bhatti, the minister for minorities, “is in serious danger of his life and the security measures to defend him are altogether insufficient: It is urgent that he be given greater protection.”

The NGOs working in that country reported that 1,392 people have been killed because of violence linked to the law on blasphemy.

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