Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the Interior Ministry for a report about the arrest of a Christian girl with Down syndrome on blasphemy charges for allegedly desecrating religious text.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that is associated with mental retardation.

Reports on the girl's age vary from 11 years old to her being a teenager.

The girl was detained in last week in Islamabad, where a Muslim mob wanted her punished immediately. Some of her Christian neighbors fled, fearing a violent outbreak.

Human rights activists say the blasphemy law in Pakistan is sometimes used to harass religious minorities.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Khan Babar said blasphemy cannot be condoned, but no one would be allowed to use it to settle personal scores.

Two prominent Pakistani politicians were killed in 2011 for speaking out against the country's blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty for insulting Islam.

Christians are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Pakistan, making up about 5 percent of the population.