LAHORE, Pakistan — Christian rights activists and church leaders in Pakistan vowed to step up efforts to protect persecuted Christians as they honored the memory of assassinated politician Shahbaz Bhatti on Sunday, the 14th anniversary of his death.
Bhatti, an ardent advocate for a diverse, multicultural and multireligious society, was assassinated on March 2, 2011, by Taliban militants outside his mother’s home in the country’s capital, Islamabad.
The Catholic government minister was a vocal critic of the misuse of the blasphemy laws and was known as a champion of religious freedom. He was also instrumental in creating 5% job quotas in government departments for religious minorities.
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His efforts led to the release of the first Christian woman sentenced to death on blasphemy charges, Aasiya Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi.
Bibi, sentenced in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim woman, now resides with her family in Canada.
Various events were organized in major cities across Pakistan on March 2 to pay homage to Bhatti’s visionary and courageous leadership. The participants also lit candles and garlanded Bhatti’s portraits to express their love for the slain leader.
Addressing a ceremony in Faisalabad, Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP) Chairman Advocate Akmal Bhatti vowed to continue the struggle launched by Bhatti for justice and religious freedom through socio-political activism.
Akmal Bhatti, who was a follower of Bhatti and remained a part of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) headed by the late leader, pledged that they would make renewed efforts to ensure provision of all rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan for religious minorities.
“We are following our leader’s vision to empower the vulnerable and marginalized religious minorities, especially Christians,” Akmal Bhatti said.
He said minorities should be given the right to elect their own representatives in the legislative assemblies so that they can work for the development and progress of their communities more effectively.
“Today the situation is such that minorities have been pushed into the shadows and are being totally ignored in major national decisions,” Bhatti said. “There is no minority representation in the recently constituted Judicial Commission of Pakistan, and we have also been overlooked in appointments in the superior judiciary. These recent actions are examples of the government’s indifference towards our issues.”
He condemned the recent rise in religiously-motivated violence and mob attacks in Pakistan, saying he regretted that the government had failed to stop the trend of false blasphemy accusations.
Multiple church buildings and homes of Christians in Jaranwala were ransacked by Muslim mobs on Aug. 16, 2023 after two Christian men were falsely accused of blasphemy. Though the government arrested more than 300 suspects, only one remains in custody while all others have been released on bail due to shoddy police investigation and weaknesses in legal prosecution, rights advocates say.
“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure justice for the Jaranwala victims as well to all others who are suffering due to false accusations of blasphemy,” Bhatti said. “The government should also protect minor girls from the Christian and Hindu community who are targeted with abductions, forced faith conversions and forced marriages on a daily basis.”
Church of Pakistan Moderator Bishop Azad Marshall termed the late minister “a fearless leader and a true son of Pakistan.”
“Shahbaz Bhatti gave his life for a country where law, justice, freedom and equality were principles to be respected and lived,” Marshall said at a meeting in Lahore to commemorate the slain politician.
The senior church leader lamented that despite Bhatti paying the ultimate sacrifice for his work against abuse of blasphemy laws, the goal of rights, peace and justice for minorities remained elusive.
“Christians are continuing to face unjust imprisonment based on their faith,” Marshall said. “Furthermore, extrajudicial killings and mob violence persists, fueled by blasphemy allegations. The lack of action by the Pakistani government exacerbates the challenges faced by our people.”
Marshall called upon the government to enforce laws that criminalize perjury and false accusations, protect persons accused of blasphemy and unconditionally release religious prisoners of conscience.
Member of the Punjab Assembly Ejaz Alam, who has also served as a former minister for human rights and minorities in Punjab, recalled the initiatives Bhatti had taken for the development of religious minorities in a statement to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
“Bhatti’s achievements include a 5 percent quota for minorities in government jobs, the first minority seats in the Senate, and a 24-hour minorities helpline,” Alam said, adding that the late political leader also had launched a network of district interfaith harmony committees to encourage dialogue and unite communities.
Shahbaz Bhatti believed in stopping the abuse of religion as a divisive force and encouraged cooperation between neighbors of different backgrounds and opinions by ushering in interfaith harmony, he said.
“At this juncture of our history when intolerance and extremism are gradually taking over our society, all Pakistanis will have to rise and raise our voices to counter those who are bent upon destroying the country’s founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of a tolerant, progressive, liberal and egalitarian Pakistan,” Alam said.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
This article was originally published at Christian Daily International–Morning Star News
