Several human rights activists, members of the civil society and a large number of Christian citizens held protest rallies across the city, on Thursday, over the assassination of the Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti.
The rallies were conducted in areas from the Lahore Press Club to The Mall. The protesters, while condemning the assassination, demanded the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led government to “not only curb terrorism but also to take a clear stand on blasphemy law in the country as per their promise in the party manifesto.”
The groups and NGOs that participated in the activity included All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), Citizens for Democracy (CFD), Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE), Christian Helpline, Pakistan Qaumi Masehi Party (Haqeeqi group), Maseehi Millat Party, Sweeper’s Union, Jharo Kash Mazdoor Union, Community Development Initiative, National Commission for Justice and Peace, Christian Lawyers Association, Punjab Bar Council, Punjab Teachers Association.
The number of protesters had increased as compared to the amount that protested on the day of the assassination.
The protesters were of the view that the cold-blooded and barbaric murder of Shahbaz Bhatti is “a murder of tolerance, diversity and respect for human rights in the country,” and said, “The freedom given to extremists was the root cause of all such heinous crimes.”
They demanded for the introduction and implementation of strict laws against communalism, spreading of hatred on the basis of colour, creed and caste. The protesters said, “The country would go further into chaos if the government did not take appropriate measures to curb extremism.” Separately, the citizens were of the view that “the government should protect all the civil society members and personalities who are struggling against the blasphemy law in the country,” adding, “It should have woken up to the challenge immediately after the assassination of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer”.
Meanwhile, the protests also caused massive traffic jams in the areas where they were being staged, and the traffic cops kept diverting the vehicles to alternate routes in order to avoid any untoward incident. The Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, was killed on March 2 (Wednesday) when some unidentified terrorists sprayed bullets on his vehicle in sector I-8/3 area of Islamabad.
CHRE chief, Samson Salamat, and the PPP minority wing leader, Napolean Qayoom, while talking to Daily Times on the issue, said, “The non-Muslim communities, especially the Christians, have completely lost their faith in the government of Pakistan”.
They said that the Christians had actively participated in the creation of Pakistan and had offered unconditional support to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who promised equal rights for all Pakistanis. They added, “No incident of religious extremism or suppressing communal rights took place in the country before the introduction of the blasphemy law by the military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq.”
They said that civil society will continue its struggle against the discriminatory law and demanded President Asif Ali Zardari to take a strict action against those who promoted hatred in the name of religion. They concluded on the note that the citizens would not let the blood of the martyred PPP leaders Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti go waste and they want the party to either announce the amendment of the blasphemy law as promised in their manifesto or openly withdraw from their stand.
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