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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: Pakistan: Anti-Christian riots prompt law review By ZARAR KHAN,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, August 7 ISLAMABAD - 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. ADVERTISEMENT The killings Saturday in the eastern city of Gojra came amid concerns that rising extremist Islam has deepened the vulnerability of Pakistan's minorities. "A committee ... will discuss the laws detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be improved," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told a gathering in Gojra. He did not specify which ones, but his announcement suggests the government may seek to change Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty for those convicted of insulting Islam, the Prophet Muhammad or the Muslim holy book. Nobody has been executed under the blasphemy laws, which were brought in during the rule of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who implemented Islamic reforms during his decade-long rule that ended with his death in 1988. But those prosecuted tend to be non-Muslim minorities. Anyone can make an accusation under the laws, and they are often misused to settle personal scores. Gilani did not give a timeframe for the review _ which is likely to run into tough resistance from religious conservatives _ and his spokesman could not immediately provide further information. Asma Jahangir, chairwoman of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, welcomed Gilani's statement. "It is good to hear Prime Minister Gilani saying this ... In my view the blasphemy law should be repealed forthwith," she said. Besides blasphemy laws, there are other legal measures that discriminate against certain religious groups in Pakistan, where about 95 percent of the 175 million people are Muslim. Only a Muslim, for example, can become prime minister or president. Another minority, the Ahmadis, who consider themselves a Muslim sect, are forbidden from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in Muslim practices such as reciting Islamic prayers, according to the U.S. State Department's 2008 Human Rights Report. The government has declared the Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority because the group's founder declared himself a prophet centuries after Muhammad, who Muslims believe was the final prophet. Pakistan's Constitution also requires that laws be consistent with Islam, which is the state religion. Gilani is one of a series of government officials who have visited Gojra over the past few days in an attempt to calm the community and assure them of financial aid and other assistance in the wake of the violence, which was sparked by an apparently false rumor that a Quran had been desecrated. Officials have said Sunni Muslim extremist groups in the area spearheaded the attacks. In the past, such groups have often launched sectarian attacks on Shiite Muslims, the second largest Islamic sect in Pakistan. Punjab police chief Tariq Salim Dogar said about 100 people had been arrested in connection with the Gojra riots. "The case was registered against 800 attackers ... so far police arrested about 100 suspects after investigation and efforts are on to nab others," Dogar said. Gilani said the government would provide $1.2 million to help reconstruct the areas damaged by the rioting, and designated Aug. 11 as "a day for minorities." "All those who were found responsible for the gory acts will get exemplary punishment to prove that all citizens are equal and no one is above law," Gilani said. The riots against Christians added to Pakistan's troubles as authorities battle a Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country. Although the military has been winding down a three-month offensive in and around the Swat Valley, violence has continued. The army said on Thursday that security forces killed seven militants and arrested another 21 in separate operations in the Swat area in the previous 24 hours. A new local militia, known as a lashkar, was helping security forces. Its chief, Sayed Bacha, said some 300 armed volunteers clashed with Taliban fighters near the main Swat town of Mingora late Wednesday, killing three militants. Bacha said there were about 6,000 volunteers were prepared to fight but need weapons and ammunition. "This is our country our land and we will fight to defend it until the last drop of our blood," he said. Authorities have been encouraging the creation of lashkars to help secure areas they have cleared. 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