Condolence reference: APMA vows to fill Shahbaz Bhatti’s shoes

Minorities alliance to remain united to finish mission of slain minister.

LAHORE:

The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) held a reference in memory of Shahbaz Bhatti, the slain minister for minorities affairs, and vowed to stay united and continue his good works on Sunday.

“I love my homeland and I want to die for a cause like my brother did,” said Paul Jacob, the new APMA director. “I want to make his dream come true and I’ll lead my people like he used to.”

Jacob, Bhatti’s eldest brother, is based in Italy and runs a hospital there. He said he had been offered and rejected Italian nationality because he thought of himself as a Pakistani only.

The condolence reference began at Ambassador Hotel with a documentary about Bhatti’s struggle to win the release of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman jailed for blasphemy. The minister, like Governor Salmaan Taseer before him, was apparently killed for his support for Aasia Bibi. Most of those in attendance were from the Christian community.

Bishop of Lahore Alexander John Malik voiced concern about minorities’ rights in Pakistan. He said Pakistani law discriminated against the minorities because it required the president and prime minister to be Muslims.

He said that Christian politicians were clean, with no corruption allegations against them, “not even in WikiLeaks”. He denied that the Christian community was getting aid from foreign countries.

Malik accused the Urdu press of bias against the Christian community. “We Pakistanis are experts at conspiracy theories. The Urdu press is trying to change reality,” he said of the coverage of the minister’s murder. He said the Urdu press had refused to publish an article he wrote about Bhatti, until a literary magazine, Hum Sukhan, carried it in its pages.

Author Kanwal Feroze compared Bhatti to historical character Dulla Bhatti, who is said to have fought, and died, with 10,000 men to force Mughal Emperor Akbar to release a Hindu woman who was his keep. “Bhatti belongs to a family that knows how to defend the weak and poor. He defended Aasia Bibi and lost his life,” said Feroze.

Beelam Hussain, president of the Pakistan Peoples Party women’s wing, said Bhatti’s death was a great loss to the country and the party. “I have a high opinion about the Christian community as my schooling is from Sacred Heart and I have a great love and respect for my Christian teachers and friends,” she said.

She said that Bhatti had refused to accept extra security before his killing, though he was warned that there were elements trying to assassinate him. “He rejected the suggestion [of extra security] politely, saying that death was unavoidable and he would love to die for a cause. He was killed a month later,” Hussain said.

At the end, the audience took an oath to stay united and continue in Bhatti’s footsteps.

Dr Paul Bhatti of the APMA, Group Captain (retd) Cecil Chaudhry, Bishop Sebastian Shah, Bishop Samuel Azariah, PPP Women’s Wing Lahore president Faiza Malik, governor’s advisor Bushra Malik, Father Yousaf Mani, Father Abid Habib, MNA Samina Khalid Ghurki, and MPAs Saghira Islam, Najmi Salim, Tahir Naveed and Pervaiz Rafique also spoke at the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2011.