Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf...

Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf said blasphemy laws enacted by former strongman General Zia ul-Haq that were punishable by the death penalty had been grossly abused. Speaking at the inauguration of a convention on Human Rights and Human Dignity, he said that in future, cases of blasphemy would only be registered after a deputy commissioner of a district had carried out a full investigation into the allegation. Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, also told the convention the "honour killings" of women would be deemed murder and the "indiscriminate" use of chains on prisoners would be banned. Musharraf said those responsible for the "honour killings" would be punished accordingly. "Honour killings are against religion and law," he said. Honour killings involving young girls who marry against the wishes of their parents have been on the rise in recent years and one was condoned by the courts. Human rights groups want laws against such killings. Under Pakistan's Islamic law, a person can be beaten or imprisoned if convicted of having sexual relations outside marriage. There is the death penalty for adultery. Human rights activists welcomed military ruler General Pervez Musharraf's announcement on steps to improve rights in Pakistan but said they doubt his words will be put into action. "It is for the first time that such a convention has been held, and whatever the government has said is very good if it's implemented," Joseph Francis, a Christian rights activist, said. "But keeping in mind the 52 years of Pakistan's history, what we have seen is that things are never implemented."