Pakistan: No pressure to revoke blasphemy laws, claims religious affairs' minister

The journalists reminded him that the law was misused at a regular basis and often innocent people were targeted to settle personal scores.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn
By Web Desk | October 31, 2017

WASHINGTON: There’s no pressure within Pakistan to revoke the country’s blasphemy laws, although foreign governments and media often demand such a change, says Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf.

Addressing members of the Pakistani-American Press Association at a dinner on Sunday, he also said those who wanted to make Pakistan a secular state were too weak to bring any real pressure.

“Pakistan can never be a secular state,” he declared.

“The blasphemy laws are misunderstood. They are not against non-Muslims,” said the minister, although he did acknowledge that some elements exploited procedural loopholes to register false cases.
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