The United States and Pakistan have stepped up pressure on Newsweek magazine with the former saying the magazine should take more corrective measures than just express regret over a report about alleged desecration of the Quran by US troops.
Pakistan on Tuesday said the apology and retraction by Newsweek were 'not enough.'
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on Monday said, "It's appalling, really, that an article, which was unfounded to begin with, has caused so much harm, including loss of life...and as the facts come out about how this story was written, one would expect more than the kind of correction we've seen so far."
Newsweek magazine on Sunday apologised for and on Tuesday withdrew the report, which claimed that American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay detention centre abused the holy book, saying it might have erred in reporting the incident.
Following the report, at least 17 people were killed in anti-US protests in Afghanistan.
Boucher said Newsweek should look at how they put something with "considerable consequences" in the magazine when there was no real sourcing and corroboration of it.
Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the report "insulted the feelings of Muslims...just an apology is not enough. They should think a 101 times before publishing news that hurt hearts."
His comments came a day after the Pakistan Foreign Ministry reiterated a demand for a probe into the alleged desecration.
In New Zealand, visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said Newsweek's retraction of the story "will definitely help" defuse some of the anger in the Muslim world, but "unfortunately some damage has been done."
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a Pakistani Islamic hardliner and opposition lawmaker, rejected Newsweek's apology.
"The objective of the change in their statement is to cool the anger among Muslims of the world," Ahmed said.
He said Islamic groups in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Britain, Turkey and other countries would go ahead with planned rallies on May 27 to protest the alleged desecration.
WITH PTI INPUTS
