Glasgow: April 8, 2013. (PCP) Global Minorities Alliance will today (Monday April 8th) stage a protest outside the Scottish Parliament, imploring MSPs to act on Pakistan’s religious violence. The Scottish-based human rights group will hold a peaceful demonstration on the steps of the Parliament between 2pm and 3pm to highlight religious persecution currently taking place in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. Last month an angry mob torched nearly 200 homes in the St Joseph colony in the city after a Christian man named Saawan Masih was accused of committing blasphemy. The violence – which took place on March 9th – is just the latest in a serious of religious hate crimes taking place all over the country. Global Minorities Alliance Chief Executive Sheraz Khan stated: “We are staging a protest demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament to urge members of the Parliament to take up the issue of the ongoing misuse of the blasphemy laws with the government of Pakistan. “The continuous misuse of these laws deeply concerns us. Salman Taseer, the moderate governor of Punjab province and Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s Christian Federal Minister for minorities were both assassinated in 2011 because of their criticism of the blasphemy laws. “We are now profoundly concerned over the safety of Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five on death row in Pakistan over alleged blasphemy. “We urge President Asif Ali Zardari to give a presidential pardon to Aasia Bibi before it is too late. Several people accused of blasphemy in the past have already been killed extra-judicially.” The organisation has already contacted members of the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons, House of Lords, the European Parliament and Presidents of G8 countries as well as several church leaders. GMA hope continual pressure on Pakistan will stop the misuse of country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Reverend Alex Gillies of the Victory Church in Govan, Glasgow, and Reverend Peter George Gill of the Church of Scotland in Paisley and Reverend George Fateh Din of the Scottish Asian Christian Fellowship Glasgow will deliver speeches to the crowds outside Parliament. GMA ambassadors from Pakistan, Switzerland and the Netherlands will also address demonstrators via telephone.