Pakistani government retracts blasphemy reform

The military authorities in Pakistan have abandoned plans to change the country's controversial blasphemy laws to make prosecutions more difficult.

The government had planned to require that any blasphemy complaint should be fully investigated before a suspect could be arrested.

But it backed down when Islamic groups threatened to demonstrate.

Critics of the present system say it is open to abuse, as it allows suspects to be detained simply on the basis of hearsay or private accusations.

A BBC correspondent in Islamabad says the government's climbdown is being seen as a victory for the Islamists.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service