Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the country's Interior Ministry for a report about the arrest of a Christian girl on blasphemy charges for allegedly desecrating pages from the Quran, Voice of America reported Aug. 20.
Police say the girl was taken into custody on Thursday (Aug. 16) after angry neighbors surrounded her house in Islamabad and accused her of burning pages inscribed with verses from the Quran. Others said she was burning papers from the garbage for cooking.
Police say the girl will be held for 14 days while the case is investigated. President Zardari on Monday (Aug. 20) took "serious note" of the girl's detention and called for a report on her arrest.
There are varying reports of the girl's age, with some saying she is as young as 11. Others quote police who say she is 16. There are also reports that the girl is mentally handicapped.
Human rights activists say the blasphemy law in Pakistan is sometimes used to harass religious minorities.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Khan Babar said blasphemy cannot be condoned, but no one would be allowed to use it to settle personal scores. Read more
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1 comment:
I burned a Koran, a Catholic Bible, a condensed version of the Talmud, and The Book of Mormon.
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