File picture
Islamabad:
Pakistani Christians marched through the streets of Islamabad on Friday to protest against religious persecution.
The march came after a court in Pakistan ordered a Christian girl accused of blasphemy to be held in prison for two more weeks as police finish their investigation and decide whether to charge her, her lawyer and police said.
Friday's court ruling was the latest step in a case that has created controversy at home and abroad.
When the accusations of blasphemy arose, large numbers of Christians in the girl's neighbourhood left, fearing retribution from their Muslim neighbours.
On Friday, protesters marched towards Islamabad National Press Club holding placards and banners with slogans such as "Stop oppression towards Christians".
Some even carried a symbolic fake corpse.
One man said: "We are being evicted from our homes, but Pakistan is our country, our identity. Yet the people of Pakistan's behaviour is very terrible towards us. We are treated like animals."
The case of the Christian girl has focused attention on Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws which can result in prison or even death for insulting Islam.
Human rights activists have long criticised the laws and said they are used to persecute non-Muslims and settle personal scores.
The court's decision was procedural, as the girl's initial two-week detention ended on Thursday, her lawyer said.
This case has generated an uproar because of reports that the girl was as young as 11 and suffered from Down syndrome.
A neighbour accused her of burning pages from Islam's holy book, the Quran, but her lawyer has denied the allegation.
Police arrested the girl from her neighbourhood in Islamabad after an angry mob of several hundred appeared at a local police station, demanding action against her for alleged blasphemy.
Police said at the time that they took her into custody partly to protect her from potential harm.
Meanwhile, in Karachi on Friday, a Pakistani politician condemned her arrest and the subsequent flight from her neighbourhood of Christian residents.
Raza Haroon, a minister in Sindh state and a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the Sindh provincial assembly, said: "The arrest of a Christian girl and forcing the Christian community to evacuate the locality near the capital Islamabad is giving this country a bad name and damaging its image internationally, and it has caused us shame."
Mr Haroon also criticised the level of violence in Karachi, and questioned the authorities' ability to prevent crime there.
"Since police, paramilitary rangers and other law enforcers in their thousands patrol the streets of the city, why is killing continuing in the city?" he said. "Why is innocent people's blood being spilt in the streets?"
More than 700 people have been killed in Karachi this year.
The march came after a court in Pakistan ordered a Christian girl accused of blasphemy to be held in prison for two more weeks as police finish their investigation and decide whether to charge her, her lawyer and police said.
Friday's court ruling was the latest step in a case that has created controversy at home and abroad.
When the accusations of blasphemy arose, large numbers of Christians in the girl's neighbourhood left, fearing retribution from their Muslim neighbours.
On Friday, protesters marched towards Islamabad National Press Club holding placards and banners with slogans such as "Stop oppression towards Christians".
Some even carried a symbolic fake corpse.
One man said: "We are being evicted from our homes, but Pakistan is our country, our identity. Yet the people of Pakistan's behaviour is very terrible towards us. We are treated like animals."
The case of the Christian girl has focused attention on Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws which can result in prison or even death for insulting Islam.
Human rights activists have long criticised the laws and said they are used to persecute non-Muslims and settle personal scores.
The court's decision was procedural, as the girl's initial two-week detention ended on Thursday, her lawyer said.
This case has generated an uproar because of reports that the girl was as young as 11 and suffered from Down syndrome.
A neighbour accused her of burning pages from Islam's holy book, the Quran, but her lawyer has denied the allegation.
Police arrested the girl from her neighbourhood in Islamabad after an angry mob of several hundred appeared at a local police station, demanding action against her for alleged blasphemy.
Police said at the time that they took her into custody partly to protect her from potential harm.
Meanwhile, in Karachi on Friday, a Pakistani politician condemned her arrest and the subsequent flight from her neighbourhood of Christian residents.
Raza Haroon, a minister in Sindh state and a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the Sindh provincial assembly, said: "The arrest of a Christian girl and forcing the Christian community to evacuate the locality near the capital Islamabad is giving this country a bad name and damaging its image internationally, and it has caused us shame."
Mr Haroon also criticised the level of violence in Karachi, and questioned the authorities' ability to prevent crime there.
"Since police, paramilitary rangers and other law enforcers in their thousands patrol the streets of the city, why is killing continuing in the city?" he said. "Why is innocent people's blood being spilt in the streets?"
More than 700 people have been killed in Karachi this year.
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