Pakistani leader may seek revision of blasphemy law, Vatican official says
December 03, 2010
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari may call for changes in the country’s controversial law against blasphemy, according to the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, speaking on Vatican Radio after a 4-day visit to Pakistan, reported that Zardari has formed a commission to “re-examine the blasphemy law with a view toward possibly eventually abrogating it.”
Christians in Pakistan have charged that the blasphemy law is a source of widespread abuse; members of religious minorities are subject to unsupported allegations that they insulted Islam, and can be convicted without clear evidence.
The case of Asia Bibi, a young mother who has been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges, has sparked international protests and new calls for repeal of the Pakistani law.
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