Protestors warn of anarchy if blasphemy law changed

A ruling Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker sparked outcry last month by seeking to end the death penalty for blasphemy, after a Christian mother of five was sentenced to hang for defaming the Prophet Mohammed.

Demonstrators marched in the eastern city of Lahore, the port city of Karachi and the central city of Multan, after influential religious parties called for protests to defend the law.

A crowd of nearly 1,500 people gathered in Lahore, calling for “Jihad” and pledging to sacrifice their lives to protect the honour of Prophet Mohammad. They also warned that attempts to soften the law would trigger nationwide protests.

“Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and we will not tolerate any attempt to amend the law,” a leader of the pro-Taliban Jamiatul Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Maulana Ahmad Khan told the participants.

reported by dawn.