An urgent question

The Pakistani Minister for religious minorities, the Catholic Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated in Islamabad on 2 March. A commando of masked fundamentalists forced him to get out of the car in which he was travelling and riddled his body with bullets. A flyer of the organization of Islamic militants “Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan” (TTP) was left on the scene of the murder; it claims Bhatti’s assassination on grounds he had spoken against the law on blasphemy. The minister had in fact courageously defended Asia Bibi, the Christian condemned to death for blasphemy on the basis of false accusations.Unspeakable act of violence. “The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistani minister for minorities, is another terrible episode of violence. It shows how right the Pope is in his persistent remarks concerning violence against Christians and against religious freedom in general”, declared the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, replying to the questions of journalists on the assassination of the Pakistani minister. “Bhatti – recalled Father Lombardi – was the first Catholic to hold such an office. We recall how he was received by the Holy Father in September last year, and how he bore witness to his own commitment to peaceful coexistence among the religious communities of his country”. “Our prayers for the victim, our condemnation for this unspeakable act of violence, our closeness to Pakistani Christians who suffer hatred – concluded the Director of the Vatican Press Office – are accompanied by an appeal that everyone may become aware of the urgent importance of defending both religious freedom and Christians who are subject to violence and persecution”.Protecting those who defend rights. “I strongly condemn the murder of a member of the Government who was well known for his defence of the principles of equality and human rights which are enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan”, declared the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, in a statement released on hearing of Bhatti’s assassination. Ashton continued: “I am also deeply concerned about the climate of intolerance and violence linked to the debate on the controversial blasphemy law. I urge the Pakistani authorities to do their utmost to ensure the protection of those in the Government and civil society who have spoken out on these matters, and to bring to justice those responsible for this crime”. Strong condemnation has also been expressed by Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament: “The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti is a personal tragedy, but also a terrible defeat for fundamental human rights, far beyond his own country”. “After the forced death of Salman Taseer, the governor the Punjab region, on 4 January”, this – continued Buzek – is the second assassination in a row of a senior Pakistani official who tried to reform the country’s blasphemy law”. “The perpetrators of this cowardly act of brutality have to be brought to justice”. Finally Buzek “urged the Pakistani government to honour the heroic fight of Shabaz Bhatti by pursuing all possible efforts for tolerance and the protection of all minorities”. Bhatti’s great commitment to human rights was also recalled by the Italian MEP Mario Mauro who had invited the Minister to Strasbourg last May, on the occasion of the EP’s approval of its resolution on Pakistan. A “martyr”. “I wish that my life would say that I am following Jesus Christ. This desire is so strong in me that I would consider it a privilege if – in this effort of mine to help the needy, the poor and the persecuted Christians of Pakistan – Jesus were to accept the sacrifice of my life”. These words, pronounced by Bhatti some time ago, were recalled by the Director of Caritas in Venice, Mgr. Dino Pistolato, who in the years of the Pastoral Visit now in progress in Venice (2004 – 2011) worked in close contact with him in collecting funds for the villages struck by the earthquake in Pakistan. “I got to know him in 2005, after the earthquake that struck the area of Islamabad – recalls Mgr. Pistolato -. As chairman of the APMA (All Pakistan Minorities Alliance), an organization that represents underprivileged communities and religious minorities in the country”, Bhatto “turned his life into an offering for the poor and those who are persecuted due to their faith”. The Venetian priest recalls Bhatti’s “strong and lucid faith and the consciousness of an approaching death”, confirmed in a recent e-mail, in which he spoke of “his tireless struggle against the existing law on blasphemy, of the repeated threats he had received and the lack of support from his political party”. “I got to know a witness to the faith, I had the grace to know a martyr”, concludes Mgr. Pistolato. Marco Impagliazzo, President of the St. Egidio Community, with which the minister had close spiritual ties, speaks of a “grave loss for Pakistan, for the reasons of dialogue and for us all”.