Shahbaz Bhatti’s assassination (VI)

RAWALPINDI: What message are we are giving to whole world? We talk about the Raymond Davis case and we talk about hanging him but what are we doing to end the monster of extremism and terrorism that is growing inside of us? We Pakistanis kill everyone and threaten everyone who talks on the blasphemy law. The fact is that we are still living with General Zia’s extremist legacy. Had we not stood by silently and not done anything when Mumtaz Qadri was being hailed as a hero, perhaps Minister Bhatti would have been alive today. Sherry Rehman and other liberal Pakistanis must now sew their lips otherwise someone will kill them and when that happens part of the nation will hail the killers as heroes. What will I tell my children when they grow up? Why were Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti killed?

Syed Foaad Hassan

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2011.