“I and my ministry have initiated a series of dialogues with all stakeholders after discussing the matter in the Cabinet,” Bhatti told Arab News.
“I have planned to meet all chief ministers, governors, the federal minister for law and parliamentary affairs, and the leaders of all religious parties to elicit their views before making changes to the law,” he added.
“We will consult Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and other minorities also on the issue.”
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has invited leading religious scholars to seek their views on the misuse of the blasphemy law. “We do not want to undo the blasphemy law but our efforts are to bring an end to its misuse,” he said.
Responding to a question about Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been convicted of blasphemy, he said, “The president had directed me to submit a report on the subject which I did. The blasphemy law in this case was misused and leaders of various religious parties later started protesting over the issue… The government has already constituted a committee to look into the negative aspects of the law.”
On clemency to Bibi, who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy, Bhatti said the president would await the court ruling.
Bibi's lawyer has said the proceedings might take years because the case is still in the high court and may later go to the Supreme Court.
“It was incorrect and inaccurate to say that our government had planned to scrap the blasphemy law off the statute,” said Bhatti, adding that there are many cases with different motives but registered under the blasphemy law.
Thousands of protesters rallied in major Pakistani cities on Friday threatening further protests and anarchy if the government moves to amend the law.
Demonstrators marched in the eastern city of Lahore, the port city of Karachi and the central city of Multan, after influential religious parties called for protests to defend the law.
Politicians and the country’s religious parties have been at loggerheads over whether President Asif Ali Zardari should pardon Bibi. Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy.
Protesters also demanded the removal of Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer who helped file a mercy petition with Zardari’s office. In Lahore and Shikarpur, Taseer’s effigies were torched by angry protesters.
A Pakistani court in November found the 45-year-old woman guilty of defiling the name of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during a 2009 argument with Muslim fellow field workers.
The offense is punishable by death or life imprisonment, according to Pakistan's penal code. But an investigation by a Pakistani government ministry found the charges stemmed from “religious and personal enmity” and recommended Bibi's release.
Zardari has said he would pardon Bibi, but a court has ruled that the president can't act until a higher court confirms the sentence — a process her lawyer says could take two to three years.
