Blasphemy letter incites rioting

Islamic students in the western city of Peshawar have been on a rampage over an allegedly blasphemous letter printed by the Pakistani daily ‘Frontier Post’, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The ‘Frontier Post’, which has seen seven of its staff arrested on charges of blasphemy, has since publicly apologised for publishing the letter on Monday, which they said, was part of a conspiracy against the paper. Protest rallies by students of the hard-line Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamic groups were staged throughout the city over the letter which allegedly criticized the Prophet Mohamed’s dealing with Jews centuries ago, the report said. Demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday turned particularly violent when rioters set alight the offices of the ‘Frontier Post’ newspaper and burnt down a local cinema accused of screening ‘un-Islamic’ movies. Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission has condemned the letter, but said that the government needed to take a stand against the riots. Meanwhile, another Pakistani daily, ‘The News’, reported on Thursday that police were forced to use tear gas when rioters began looting shops and attacking private property. According to the report, however, the district magistrate said that the situation was ‘now under control’ and a special police committee had been assembled to investigate the ‘Frontier Post’ case.