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"Initially the Musharraf government showed some interest in amending the laws," she said. "The problem is he came up against stringent opposition from Islamist parties, so he backed down on his pledge to do something about them. The Musharraf government has allied with the Islamist parties and relies on the Islamist parties for its own legitimacy. Therefore, they have a lot of influence, even though they don't have that much popularity within Pakistan as a whole."

Pope Benedict XVI appealed to the Pakistani government on Friday, June 1, for a closer adherence to the principles of democracy, which, he said, "assure the freedom to express political opinions publicly in a variety of ways. In this way, national solidarity is enhanced, and peaceful ways of reconciling differences are encouraged."

Many other voices inside Pakistan and in the international community are also calling for reform or repeal of the blasphemy laws. But Musharraf has withdrawn his 2000 promise to amend the laws, and earlier this year, Pakistan's parliament rejected a proposal to reduce the punishment prescribed by blasphemy laws.

Jeremy Sewall, policy analyst for International Christian Concern (ICC), one organization pushing for reform in Pakistan, said that their exhortation "seems to have fallen on deaf ears."

Sewall also noted that Pakistan's parliament is considering a bill that would outlaw apostasy. Men who convert from Islam to any other religion would get the death penalty; women would receive life imprisonment.

"It seems that Pakistan is going to get worse before it gets better," Sewall said.

Still, Sewall believes pressure from the West can help. "The Pakistani government is trying to cooperate with the U.S. I think that we need to tell our representatives and our State Department and our President that human rights is an issue that we want them working on in Pakistan, and these are two examples of how human rights are not being protected," Sewall said.

Carley also sees a place for Americans to act. She said Americans should "agitate United States officials to do more, because Pakistan gets a lot of aid from the U.S. The feeling is that the U.S. could ask for more efforts [by Pakistan] to implement reforms than it is currently [asking]."

In addition to appealing to U.S. government officials, Sewall said, "Prayer is key. We need to be praying for changes of hearts in Pakistan."

Elizabeth Lawson is news intern for Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Other Christianity Today articles on Pakistan are available on our site.

Related news stories include:

Pope says Pakistan needs to strengthen democracy | Pope Benedict called on Pakistan on Friday to strengthen democracy and guarantee freedom of expression. (Reuters)

Man gets death for blasphemy after video trial | Defense counsel says he will appeal against decision (Daily Times, Pakistan)

Death sentence for blasphemy: HRCP to help Younis Masih appeal | The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said on Thursday that it would follow the case of Younis Masih, who had been sentenced to death on May 30 on charge of blasphemy. (Daily Times, Pakistan)

Christian in Pakistan sentenced to death | A Christian was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammed, and a human rights activist Friday urged Pakistan's president to spare his life. (Associated Press)

Pakistan shuts nursing college after blasphemy scare | A Pakistani nursing school has been shut and seven members of staff suspended after Islamist students protested over allegations blasphemy had been committed at the school, one of its officials said on Monday. (Reuters)

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June (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51