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Blasphemy charge dropped

KABUL June 24. Afghanistan's Supreme Court has dropped a blasphemy charge against the interim Women's Affairs Minister, Sima Samar, a senior judicial official said today.

The portfolio is the only one outstanding in the new cabinet of the President, Hamid Karzai. It was not immediately clear if there was a link between the case and the delay in naming the new Women's Affairs Minister, or whether Ms. Samar would now retain it. The Deputy Chief Justice, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, said the Supreme Court had dropped its case yesterday for lack of evidence. "Ms. Samar came to see the Chief Justice and denied insulting Islam, and she insisted that she is a believer in Islam," he told Reuters. "So the court has changed its mind about prosecuting her. Maybe if we get stronger evidence, we will reopen the case."

Mr. Manawi said "many people" had lodged complaints against Ms. Samar, accusing her of saying she did not believe in Islamic sharia law in a recent interview with a Canadian newspaper. "We have freedom of expression, but no one has the right to slander Islam, especially one who has been in the government." Ms. Samar has led a campaign to improve the status of women, who have traditionally been downtrodden.Meanwhile, a rocket was fired near U.S. special forces troops in south-eastern Afghanistan, a spokesman said on Monday, soon after British forces in the region seized a large stash of weapons which may have been left by Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. — Reuters, AP

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