Gojra’s anti-Christian riots force Gilani to review ‘blasphemy laws’

October 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Defending the Kerry Lugar Bill, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has termed the controversial aid package as a 'big success' of his government. Addressing a meeting of government coalition partners, Gilani said the United States has assured all help to Pakistan.

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.

October 2nd, 2009 ROME - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has assured Pope Benedict XVI that his government would ensure that blasphemy laws are not used against Christians. During their meeting here, the Pope had asked Zardari to guarantee protection of minority Christians and ensure that a Gojra-like violence doesn't get repeated.

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 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 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Government may review the blasphemy law to prevent its abuse following the recent violence against the Christian community in Gojra. "After the completion of an inquiry report into the incident and subject to its recommendations, the government will take appropriate measures to prevent future flare-ups of communal carnage," State Minister for Interior Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi said.

August 12th, 2009 LAHORE - The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres and the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Ali Gomaa, have both condemned the recent anti-Christian riots in Gojra that claimed nine persons and left many injured. "On behalf of the C-1 World Dialogue, we deplore the recent terrible events in Gojra where at least seven Pakistani Christians were killed and many more wounded in a terrible attack," the Daily Times quoted the duo, as saying in a joint statement.

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 6th, 2009 Pakistan: Anti-Christian riots prompt law reviewISLAMABAD — Pakistan's prime minister pledged on Thursday to review laws that may be sharpening tension among Pakistan's religious communities, days after a Muslim mob burned homes in rioting that left eight Christians dead. The killings Saturday in the eastern city of Gojra came amid concerns that rising extremist Islam has deepened the vulnerability of Pakistan's minorities.

August 5th, 2009 LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said that the recent anti-Christian riots in Gojra were pre-planned, and not a spontaneous reaction of an enraged Muslim community. According to an HRCP report, announcements made from mosques in Gojra on July 31 urged Muslims to gather and "make mincemeat of the Christians" over allegation of desecration of the Holy Quran, the Daily Times reports.

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 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.

August 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has termed the anti-Christian riots in the Gojra tehsil village of Korian region as 'frightening', where protestors have charred down many houses related to Christian families. The riots broke when local Muslims alleged that three Christians burned the Holy Quran.