He said the assassination of the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, was a direct result of religious intolerance. “This intolerance got a flip when Pakistan joined the global war against terrorism. People of Pakistan consider the protection of Islamic laws mandatory for the state of Pakistan,” he said.
“There is a sound reason for the blasphemy law, and the real reason for the rising terrorism — that is being witnessed in Pakistan — is actually the US-led war against terrorism,” he added.
“Even England has a blasphemy law and there is a sound reason for this … Allama Iqbal proposed a bill in the 1920s in the Punjab legislative assembly which provides punishment for anything being said against any religious personality,” he said.
Khan suggested that all political parties need to collectively take a decision on Pakistan’s ongoing role in the war on terror to bring an end to the violence that is being witnessed in the country.
