Islamabad:
Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Wednesday made his first public appearance in the Pakistani capital in over two years at a meeting of leaders of key religious parties and hardliners opposed to changes in the country's controversial blasphemy law.
Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has addressed gatherings and rallies across Punjab since he was released from house arrest last year but had not visited Islamabad in the recent past.
Addressing the gathering, Saeed stressed the need for a well-organised media campaign in favour of the blasphemy law.
Former premier and senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also attended the meeting, which called for a country-wide strike on December 31 to oppose moves for changes in the blasphemy law.
Footage on television showed Saeed sitting next to former federal minister Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of late military dictator Zia-ul-Haq.
India handed over a dossier to Pakistan in June this year with detailed information on Saeed's links with the Mumbai attacks and demanded action against him. But he continues to walk free in Pakistan.
A death sentence given by a lower court in Punjab to a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, convicted of insulting Prophet Mohammed has triggered a debate on the need to repeal or amend the blasphemy law introduced by Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s.
The law carries a death penalty for anyone convicted of using derogatory language against Islam and the Prophet.
Minority communities and rights groups have said that the law has been misused to falsely implicate people in blasphemy cases.
An official report on Asia Bibi's case submitted to President Asif Ali Zardari said she had been framed in the case.
Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has addressed gatherings and rallies across Punjab since he was released from house arrest last year but had not visited Islamabad in the recent past.
Addressing the gathering, Saeed stressed the need for a well-organised media campaign in favour of the blasphemy law.
Former premier and senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also attended the meeting, which called for a country-wide strike on December 31 to oppose moves for changes in the blasphemy law.
Footage on television showed Saeed sitting next to former federal minister Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of late military dictator Zia-ul-Haq.
India handed over a dossier to Pakistan in June this year with detailed information on Saeed's links with the Mumbai attacks and demanded action against him. But he continues to walk free in Pakistan.
A death sentence given by a lower court in Punjab to a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, convicted of insulting Prophet Mohammed has triggered a debate on the need to repeal or amend the blasphemy law introduced by Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s.
The law carries a death penalty for anyone convicted of using derogatory language against Islam and the Prophet.
Minority communities and rights groups have said that the law has been misused to falsely implicate people in blasphemy cases.
An official report on Asia Bibi's case submitted to President Asif Ali Zardari said she had been framed in the case.
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