Bhatti memorial: 'If we are silent, we allow evil to win'

Hussain Haqqani and other US leaders plead for religious tolerance at memorial service for Shahbaz Bhatti.

WASHINGTON: Pakistani and US leaders pleaded Wednesday for religious tolerance at a memorial service in Washington for Pakistan's sole Christian government minister Shahbaz Bhatti who was killed in broad daylight.

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to Washington, said he decided to hold a service for Bhatti at the embassy as there was an "unconscionable silence" by many Pakistanis who in their hearts are respectful of other faiths.

"When Shahbaz Bhatti was murdered and we remain silent, some of us have died with him," Haqqani told the service attended by US officials and Pakistani expatriates. "If we are silent, we allow evil to win," Haqqani said. "It is unacceptable, it is un-Islamic, it is not what Pakistan was founded for, it is not what Pakistanis living abroad can be proud of as Pakistanis and -- if I may use a term that has been abused in Pakistan -- it is blasphemy."

Bhatti, the minister for minorities' affairs, advocated reforms to blasphemy laws which critics say are used to persecute non-Muslims. Bhatti was shot at least 25 times on March 2 as he was leaving his mother's home.

Punjab's governor Salmaan Taseer, another critic of abuse of the blasphemy law, was shot dead less than two months earlier by an assassin whom well-wishers showered with petals during a court appearance.

Bhatti told AFP after Taseer's assassination that he knew he had become a top target but was prepared to die to defend minorities from abuse.

Farahnaz Ispahani, a member of Pakistan's parliament, praised Bhatti's work on the blasphemy law and other efforts including trying to restrict hate speech.

"We are fighting today to protect our great nation from bigoted extremists who want to silence every voice that believes in inclusion," said Ispahani, who is Haqqani's wife. "We may not shout but we are strong, and unlike the murderers and the assassins we are on the right side of history and on the right side of the Holy Book. And we are not afraid," she said.

Maria Otero, the US under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, said that the United States shared Bhatti's "pursuit of a world of tolerance."

"We believe that it is imperative to uphold religious freedom, not only in accordance with international law but also as an essential pillar in the foundation for global peace," Otero said.