Blasphemy, Shahbaz Batti, Minorities minister and leading catholic politician of Pakistan is shot dead in the capital Islamabad. He was a critic of blasphmy law which make the lives of minorities unsafe in Pakistan.
Shahbaz Bhatti the minorities minister was killed this morning when at least two gunmen opened fire on his car. He was taken to the Shifa Hospital but was dead in his way to hospital.
Mr Bhatti had been campaigning to reform the Pakistan's notoriously strict blasphemy laws, which most recently were used against Asia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death for “insulting” Islam.
Shahbaz 42, was a prominent leader the ruling Pakistan People's Party. He had received numerous death threats after calling for changes to the country’s controversial blasphemy law. The blasphemy law carries a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam, and critics say it has been used to persecute minority faiths. In January, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who had also opposed the law, was murdered by one of his bodyguards.
He was the very first Christian who hold a cabinet post in Pakistan, Mr Bhatti spoke about the threat facing him last month, during a visit to Canada to raise awareness about his country’s blasphemy laws. He said: “I have been told by pro-Taliban religious extremists that if I will continue to speak against the blasphemy law, I will be beheaded.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but leaflets issued by Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab, a branch of the Taliban in Pakistan’s most populous province, were found at the ambush site, according to the private TV channel Express 24/7.
Shahbaz Bhatti the minorities minister was killed this morning when at least two gunmen opened fire on his car. He was taken to the Shifa Hospital but was dead in his way to hospital.Mr Bhatti had been campaigning to reform the Pakistan's notoriously strict blasphemy laws, which most recently were used against Asia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death for “insulting” Islam.
Shahbaz 42, was a prominent leader the ruling Pakistan People's Party. He had received numerous death threats after calling for changes to the country’s controversial blasphemy law. The blasphemy law carries a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam, and critics say it has been used to persecute minority faiths. In January, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who had also opposed the law, was murdered by one of his bodyguards.
He was the very first Christian who hold a cabinet post in Pakistan, Mr Bhatti spoke about the threat facing him last month, during a visit to Canada to raise awareness about his country’s blasphemy laws. He said: “I have been told by pro-Taliban religious extremists that if I will continue to speak against the blasphemy law, I will be beheaded.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but leaflets issued by Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab, a branch of the Taliban in Pakistan’s most populous province, were found at the ambush site, according to the private TV channel Express 24/7.
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