The girl's parents are Christian converts and this has made them targets for Muslim extremists in their district. A mob demanded the girl's arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to kill the family for converting. Already more than 600 people have fled from the Christian neighbourhood.

Rights activists have urged Pakistan to reform its controversial blasphemy laws, under which a person can be jailed for life for desecrating the Koran. Many of those accused of blasphemy have been killed by violent mobs, while politicians who advocate a change in legislation have also been targeted. Last year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, was killed after calling for the repeal of the blasphemy law. His death came just two months after the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who also spoke out about the issue.

Please come, bring noise and placards to show the Pakistani authorities they must respect freedom of worship for all