NEW DELHI: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari ordered on Monday afternoon an investigation into the arrest of a Christian girl accused of desecrating the holy Qur'an. Zardari called for the probe to look into local police misused the country's controversial blasphemy law in arrested the young girl, who reportedly suffers from a mental illness. The move has received praise from women's rights activists in the country, who had urged the president to move quickly on the issue that has sparked tension between the country's predominantly Muslim majority and the small Christian minority. “It is a step in the right direction, but we have to wait and see what the investigations reveal,” said one women's rights activist and Christian via telephone to Bikyamasr.com. The 11-year-old girl was arrested by police after a mob accused her of desecrating the Qur'an. The mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside the capital Islamabad, local media reported on Sunday. Officials reported that the girl, who is believed to suffer from Down's syndrome, was unable to answer police questions due to her illness. Her parents have been taken into protective custody following threats and other Christian families have fled. Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known to have a mental disorder and that it seemed “unlikely she purposefully desecrated the Qur'an." “From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which also had pages of the Koran," he said. “This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action against her. The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to burn down Christian homes." He said more than 600 people have fled from the Christian neighborhood. Rights activists have urged Pakistan to reform its controversial blasphemy laws, under which a person can be jailed for life for desecrating the Qur'an. Many of those accused of blasphemy have been killed by violent mobs, while politicians who advocate a change in legislation have also been targeted.
