KL.FM 96.7 (UK)
A Pakistani cleric faces a possible blasphemy charge for allegedly trying to frame a Christian girl for burning pages of the Koran.
Pakistani police are investigating whether imam Khalid Chishti planted pages of the book in a shopping bag containing burned papers and ash that had been carried by 14-year-old Rimsha Masih to strengthen the case against her.
The young girl - whom a medical report found to have a lower than average IQ and is said to have Down's Syndrome – has been held in a high-security prison for more than two weeks after being accused of burning the religious text.
Police officer Munir Jafferi says officials registered the blasphemy case against Chishti on Monday after his deputy and two assistants said he tampered with the evidence. He has denied the allegation.
Jafferi says Chishti could be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted of desecrating the Koran.
Meanwhile, the girl's lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said his client would remain in prison until at least Friday after her bail hearing was delayed again.
Judge Muhammad Azam Khan has repeatedly delayed bail proceedings for Masih, who was arrested last month.
The delays follow a request from a lawyer representing Rimsha's original accuser, neighbour Hammad Malik.
Rao Abdur Raheem argued the case should not be heard to enable lawyers to show solidarity with a strike being observed by the bar association in neighbouring Punjab province, the largest organisation of its type in the country.
Rimsha's lawyer said the case against his client had collapsed after the Imam's arrest.
"The prosecution has completely failed. There is nothing left in this case now," Raja Ikram, a lawyer representing Rimsha, told reporters after the adjournment.
Campaigners have demanded Rimsha's immediate release.
"Rimsha must be released now. The evidence has been proved false so there is no reason to keep her behind bars any more," Shamaun Alfred Gill, a spokesman for the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) told reporters.
Western governments have expressed concern over her arrest and rights groups have called on Pakistan to reform its blasphemy legislation, which they say is often abused to settle personal vendettas.
In 2011, leading politician Salman Taseer and a Christian cabinet minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, were assassinated after calling for the law to be reformed.
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