Pakistani leader may seek revision of blasphemy law, Vatican official says
December 03, 2010
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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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