Four female Christian nurses and two Christian teaching staff were suspended from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences nursing school in Rawalpindi yesterday, after they were suspected of crossing out a Koranic verse posted on a notice board. Christian activists in Pakistan fear they will be charged with desecration of the Koran.

According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), on 17 May a Koranic verse posted on the noticeboard was found crossed out. The Principal of the School of Nursing, Ms. Stella Nazir, a Christian, was on leave at the time, but has been suspended. One other member of staff and four student nurses have also been suspended, and the nurses' hostel has been closed for 15 days.

All six Christians deny any involvement in desecrating the Koranic verse on the notice board. There are fears that they could be charged under Section 295B of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relates to the desecration of the Koran. A mob of Muslim students, armed with batons, took part in a protest at the nursing school. It is believed that the mob was mobilised by the Lal Masjid mosque and Jamia Hafsa madrassa in Islamabad.

Group Captain (Rtd) Cecil Chaudhry, Executive Secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance and a leading human rights activist in Pakistan, said: "This is a blatant example of religious discrimination. There is absolutely no evidence against these six Christians. Why have they been singled out and suspended, without any proper independent investigation into the matter? We urge the school authorities to conduct a proper, unbiased, independent inquiry and in the meantime to immediately reinstate the Principal, the other staff member and the four students."

This case follows several recent examples of increasing persecution of Christians in different parts of Pakistan. On 30 May, Younis Masih, a Christian, was sentenced to death under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code, accused of committing blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed. Last month, a community of approximately 500 Christians in Charsadda, North-West Frontier Province, were given an ultimatum to convert to Islam by 17 May, or face "dire consequences". Threats were repeated on a wall opposite a church, and similar threats have been made in other towns.

"Charsadda was a test case for the extremists," said Cecil Chaudhry. "The failure of the Pakistani authorities to take firm action and to provide proper protection for the Christians in Charsadda has been taken by the extremists as a green light to escalate pressure on minorities. The targeting of Christians in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences school of nursing is an example of this. If the international community does not put pressure on the Pakistani Government to take action to stop the rapid rise of extremism and the persecution of minorities, many innocent people in Pakistan will continue to suffer."

Stuart Windsor, National Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "We are alarmed by the recent serious increase in pressure on religious minorities, and abuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. We urge the Pakistani authorities to act firmly now to protect human rights and not to give any succour to extremism. We urge the British Government and the international community to convey this message to President Musharraf and his government."