Islamists Rally Blaphemy Protests

Pakistanis Rally in Support of Blasphemy Law

VoA News: Witnesses in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore say several thousand people have joined a rally in support of a blasphemy law that critics say is used to harass the country's religious minorities.

A coalition of Pakistani Islamist parties organized Sunday's protest as part of a nationwide campaign to oppose calls by some politicians for changes to the blasphemy law. The rally also drew supporters of non-Islamist parties, including those of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan.

Pakistan's blasphemy law drew international attention last November when a Pakistani court used it to sentence a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, to death for insulting Islam. The governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, led a campaign to amend the law but he was assassinated earlier this month.

One of Taseer's bodyguards admitted to shooting him for opposing the law. He is in police custody.

Speakers at Sunday's demonstration urged the government not to introduce any reforms to the blasphemy law. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said earlier this month the government has no plans to change the law, but also wants to prevent its misuse.

Pakistani critics of the country's Islamist movement accuse it of using the blasphemy issue to mobilize street protests for political gain at a time when the government is struggling to address major economic problems.

Islamist parties held a major rally in support of the blasphemy law in the southern port of Karachi on January 9, drawing about 50,000 people. Some in the crowd praised the man charged with murdering Taseer.