London: January 17, 2011. (Taskeen Khan Exclusive) Rather than amend the law (section 295 of Pakistan Penal Code) punishing those convicted of insulting Islam, Pakistan should ensure the laws were not abused, said Pervez Musharraf, former Pakistan president and currently the head of the newly-formed political party All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). The laws have come under scrutiny after a Christian mother-of-five, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death for allegedly defaming the prophet Mohammed in her Punjab village. Salman Taseer, governor of the Punjab, was then killed by one of his own bodyguards, Mumtaz Qadri, for backing reform of the law, in an assassination exposing deep division between liberal and conservative Pakistan. Later the killer declared hero by some hardliners in the country. Pervez Musharraf said blasphemy laws are deeply sensitive in the country and doing away with them is not possible. He did say however that Mumtaz Qadri, the killer, must face court trial. "The killer of the governor, he is a culprit, he is a criminal, he must be tried and he must be punished," he said during a packed party meeting in London secretariat of the APML. Before the press briefing Pakistani minorities’ representatives met Pervez Musharraf to share their view point on recent events and the expectations from his party APML. During a special ceremony Kashan W. Bennett had been named as the president of the Minority Wing of UK Chapter of APML. Taskeen Khan Exclusive (Draft: APML Minority Wing UK requests the following proposals to be accommodated within APML manifesto) 1. Basic human rights of all religious minorities will be assured, as they must be treated as equal citizens of Pakistan. 2. Minorities will have full religious freedom in line with the spirit of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s historic speech of 11th August 1947. 3. Transparent census of religious minorities to be ensured for determining their adequate representation in the parliament, senate and provincial assembles in accordance with their population. 4. Adequate quotas for religious minorities to be allocated in all walks of life in line with their population; a. Quota for plots to be allocated in all urban housing societies, residential colonies and kachi abadies b. Quota to be allocated in distribution of all agricultural land c. 5% quota in job to be implemented, passed by the current government. d. Quota to be allocated for admissions in the professional universities and colleges, i.e. engineering & agricultural Universities, medical colleges etc. e. Quota to be allocated for all scholarships for overseas studies 5. Religious minorities to be given the right of dual vote for electing their minority representatives while staying part of the mainstream politics. 6. Religious minorities to be entrusted with the key ministries within Federal & Provincial Governments. 7. All discriminatory laws, including the blasphemy laws, hudood laws, qanoon-e-shahdat, qisas-o-diyat and condition to be Muslim for becoming President, Prime Minister etc., to be repealed from the constitution. 8. Minorities’ representation to be ensured in all delegations sent overseas; be they political, educational, diplomatic, business or cultural. 9. Contribution of minorities in the creation, progress & service of Pakistan should be included in the academic curriculum 10. Denationalisation and returning of all Christian educational institutions, especially Murray College in Sialkot, Gordon College in Rawalpindi and Edward College in Peshawar. 11. The Christian identity of all missionary welfare institutions, including schools and hospitals, should be protected and rights of their employees be safeguarded. 12. The largest religious minority should be addressed as Masihi and not Esai 13. Christian students in educational institutions to be given option for Biblical studies as a subject, just like Muslim students are to study Islamic studies. 14. An anti-discrimination law to be passed for the protection of religious minorities and incitement to hate should be made punishable offence. A complete ban on all provocative hate literature against religious minorities to be enforced.