Laws reviewed after anti-Christian havoc

Islamabad: Pakistan's prime minister pledged yesterday to review laws that are "detrimental to religious harmony" nearly a week after a mob killed eight Christians following rumours that a Quran was desecrated.

Although he did not specify it, Yousuf Raza Gilani's announcement suggests that the government may review Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty for those convicted of insulting Islam, the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) or the Quran.

To date no one has been executed under the blasphemy laws, but those prosecuted tend to be non-Muslim minorities. Anyone can make an accusation under the laws, and they are often misused to settle personal scores.

Still, attempts to reform the related rules in the past have met with tremendous resistance in the conservative nation of 175 million, which is 95 per cent Muslim.

"A committee comprising constitutional experts, the minister for minorities, the religious affairs minister and other representatives will discuss the laws detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be improved," Gilani told a gathering in Gojra, the city where the eight Christians were killed and scores of homes belonging to Christians were burned last week.

He did not give more details or a timeframe, and his spokesman could not immediately provide more information.

Besides blasphemy laws, there are other legal measures that discriminate against certain religious groups in Pakistan. For instance, a non-Muslim cannot be prime minister or president.

The Ahmadis, who consider themselves a Muslim sect, are forbidden from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in Muslim practices such as reciting prayers, according to the US State Department's 2008 Human Righs Report.

Pakistan's constitution also requires that laws be consistent with Islam, which is the state religion.

The killings in Gojra come as extremist Islamists, fed by a virulent Taliban insurgent movement, is on the rise in Pakistan, making minorities feel more vulnerable than ever. Even Shiite Muslims, the second largest sect in Islam, face threats from extremists in the Sunni majority.