Rao-Abdur-Rahim-670
Rao Abdur Raheem, (C), the lawyer for the accuser of the Christian girl charged with blasphemy for allegedly burning papers of Quranic verses, talks with media outside the court in Islamabad on August 30, 2012. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: Doctors and officials are “favouring” a young Pakistani Christian girl charged with blasphemy after allegedly burning papers containing Quranic verses, the lawyer for her accuser claimed on Thursday.

The girl has been held since Aug 16 on suspicion of desecrating the Holy Quran.

A medical report earlier this week said that girl was around 14 years old — her age had been in dispute — and appeared to be “uneducated” with a mental age below her true age.

But after a brief hearing in the case on Thursday, which she did not attend, Rao Abdur Raheem, the lawyer representing her accuser, rejected the doctors' assessment.

“The victim has admitted that she burned a chapter of the Quran,” he told reporters outside court in Islamabad.

“The doctors are favouring the victim and the state is also supporting her.”

Raheem also objected to the medical examination because it was carried out a day before the court formally requested it.

The girl’s case has prompted concern from Western governments and the Vatican and anger from human rights campaigners, who have warned the laws, are often used to settle personal vendettas.

Opinion

Editorial

War and peace
Updated 18 May, 2025

War and peace

Instead of constantly evoking the spectre of war, India and Pakistan should work towards peace.
Unequal taxation
18 May, 2025

Unequal taxation

PAKISTAN’S inefficient, growth-inhibiting, distortive and unjust tax system can justifiably be described as the...
Health crimes
18 May, 2025

Health crimes

MULTAN’S Nishtar Hospital, south Punjab’s largest public-sector hospital, was in the news last year for...
Tariff reform
Updated 17 May, 2025

Tariff reform

Planned import policy reforms signify a major positive shift in the govt’s economic and growth strategy.
Rising heat
17 May, 2025

Rising heat

AS the mercury continues to rise mercilessly across Pakistan, it becomes painfully clear that climate change has hit...
Missing link
17 May, 2025

Missing link

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb now has much to his credit, which is why his promise that the M6 motorway will ...