20,000 protest blasphemy law change in Pakistan: police

More than 20,000 people rallied in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi today, police said, against proposed amendments to blasphemy laws that were recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death.

More than 20,000 people rallied in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi on Sunday, police said, against proposed amendment to blasphemy laws that were recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death.

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The mass protest follows Tuesday's assassination of provincial governor Salman Taseer by one of his bodyguards, after the politician spoke out for reform of the law that gives the death penalty for defamation of the Prophet Mohammad.

Two senior police officers in Karachi said more than 20,000 protesters had joined the rally and more were arriving, while senior police official Irshad Sehar told AFP that more than 30,000 people were taking part.