Blasphemy laws won’t be misused against Christians, Zardari assures Pope

October 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Christians in Pakistan have been going through a harrowing time in the country with numerous violent attacks being reported against the minority community in the recent past. Last month, severe violence had erupted in Punjab's Sialkot district.

September 30th, 2009 ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari presided Wednesday over the signing of a defence memorandum between their two countries. "The agreement aims to increase the exchange of intelligence and bilateral trade in the military field," Berlusconi said, at a joint news conference with Zardari in Rome.

September 16th, 2009 LAHORE - A Christian man who was held on blasphemy charges is reported to have committed suicide in a Pakistani prison, while human rights activists are smelling foul play in his death. Masih, 25, was arrested on Friday after hundreds of protesters accused him of desecrating the holy Quran and attacked a Catholic church in the Sambrial district near the Indian border "Masih, being accused of blasphemy, was put in a separate cell where he committed suicide by using a string," the Daily Times quoted Sialkot District Jail Superintendent Farooq Lodhi, as saying.

September 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Government has been asked by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights to re-examine the blasphemy law so that incidents like Gojra's anti-Christian riot can be prevented. Human Rights Ministry Secretary Farid Khan told Committee chairman PML-Q member Riaz Fatiyana that the Gojra incident reflected "a complete failure of our system." The Daily Times quoted Punjab Human Rights Minister Kamran Michael as saying that the government should review the blasphemy law.

August 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said his party will not field any candidate against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in the upcoming by-polls. However, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar was quoted by the Daily Times as saying that the PPP has not yet decided whether to field a candidate against Nawaz or not.

August 14th, 2009 NEW YORK - Several Pakistani Christians took to the streets here and staged a demonstration in front of the United Nations to protest against the Gojra riots in which nine Christians were killed and several others injured. People held placards that read: "Stop killing innocent Christians," "Don't kill or destroy in Allah's name", "Cruelty against humanity is blasphemy", and "Stop burning Christian Churches" shouted slogans against the Pakistan government.

August 11th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the country is committed to ensuring equal rights to all minorities as per the Constitution. In a message delivered on Minorities Day, Zardari said all measures will be taken to ensure complete freedom and security to people belonging to minority communities.

August 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Condemning the anti-Christian riots of Gojra, Pakistani parliamentarians have demanded amendments in the existing blasphemy law in a bid to minimise its misuse. Jamshaid Dasti of the PPP condemned the Gojra tragedy in the National Assemble, and said there was a need to revisit the blasphemy law, the Daily Times reports.

August 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Following his visit to riot-hit Gojra, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has hinted at changing the blasphemy law in a bid to facilitate "religious harmony" in the country. Eight Christians were burnt alive last month over blasphemy allegations in Gojra.

August 5th, 2009 LAHORE - In the wake of the anti-Christian riots in Gojra, a factory owner and two others have been killed by factory workers for allegedly desecrating the holy Quran. A worker entered Najeebullah's factory at noon, and saw him placing an outdated calendar - which had verses from the holy Quran written on it -on a table.

August 4th, 2009 LAHORE - The Human Rights Society of Pakistan (HRSP) has condemned the brutal killing of innocent Christians in Gojra. According to a statement issued on Monday, the HRSP said these incidents had occurred in the name of alleged blasphemy of the Quran.

August 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Christian community in the town of Gojra has closed all schools and colleges in the area for three days as a mark of respect for the eight persons killed in riots on Saturday. Hundreds of Muslims, apparently spurred by a banned militant group, stormed a Christian neighbourhood in the eastern city of Gojra on Saturday, burning dozens of houses after reports surfaced that some Christians had desecrated a Quran.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW YORK - The attack on Christian families in Gojra in central Pakistan, the culmination of several days of rioting over a claim that a Koran had been defiled, shows how insecure life is for the tiny Christian minority in the country. More than 100 Christian houses were burned and looted on Saturday in a rampage that lasted about eight hours by a crowd the authorities estimate was as large as 20,000 strong.

July 2nd, 2009 LAHORE - Over six hundred Muslims attacked Christians in Bahmniwala village in Kasur District of Pakistan after local mosques urged them to unite and "teach a lesson" to the Christians. Angry Muslim mob, after accusing of blasphemy, destroyed Christians' houses, looted valuables and tortured Christian men and women ruthlessly.

April 10th, 2009 ROME - Pope Benedict XVI planned to preside over Rome's traditional Good Friday evening Way of the Cross procession at which the Vatican has invited the faithful to reflect on the persecution of Christians in India. The procession was to be accompanied by words penned by Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, India.