Lahore (AsiaNews) – In an open letter to Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shuakat Azi, Mgr Lawrence Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore and president of the Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, writes that he hopes that 2005 will be a year of "change in which anti-women and anti-minority legislation is repealed".

In the note, the Archbishop expresses his appreciation for Pakistan's dedication to peaceful coexistence and social justice. At the same time, he calls on the government to focus on human rights and religious freedom.

Archbishop Saldanha pointed out that that Islamabad must deal with some important issues such as an electoral system at the level of local government that is still based on religious affiliation, honour killing of women accused of adultery, and the blasphemy law that imposes life in prison for anyone guilty of insulting the Qu'ran and the death penalty for anyone insulting the prophet Muhammad, a law too often used to settle private scores.

According to Archbishop Saldanha, these laws are particularly harmful to women—who are legally reduced to the status of minors—and to minorities. Their effect is harmful to the whole of society.