From Trieste, where he gave his testimony during the Social Week of Italian Catholics, the brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minorities who was murdered in 2011, comments on the verdict which in recent days has reopened the wound of the blasphemy laws in the Christian community of Pakistan: “Let the government say clearly that no one can teach a person to kill or die in the name of religion.”
Trieste () – When Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated in Islamabad in March 2011, the greats of the world did not mince words to honour the memory and commitment of Shahbaz Bhatti. Ten thousand people attended his funeral in Khushpur. The Catholic politician who had been the first to hold the post of Minister for Minorities in Pakistan since 2008, was simply “my brother” for Paul Bhatti – a doctor who has been based for years in Treviso, in north-east Italy. In a packed square, Giuseppe Verdi, introduced by presenter Lorena Bianchetti, told his story on 5 July in the context of the events organised for the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy, which ended yesterday with the visit of Pope Francis.
It was also a significant dialogue in light of the wound opened in recent days in the Christian community in Pakistan by the verdict on the violence committed last August against the Christian community of Jaranwala, in Punjab. The attackers remain unpunished and this is confirmed by the recent decision of Judge Ziaullah Khan, of the local anti-terrorism court of Sahiwal, who blamed a 22-year-old Christian youth. Episodes like this show to what extent the importance of Shahbaz Bhatti’s legacy remains relevant, drawing attention to the blasphemy law that is so often used to harass minorities. “This climate still persists because it is based on an ideology that is born of education,” he told Paul Bhatti at the end of the meeting – More than 50 percent of the population is illiterate; they are trained to kill and die. Then someone uses them as instruments.
After Shabhaz’s death, Paul Bhatti continued his brother’s work for a while, becoming special advisor to Prime Minister Gilani in the same ministry, which was renamed the National Harmony Ministry in July 2011. “But there should be political stability that leads to real reforms,” he continued. “For example, with the collaboration of Muslim friends, we promoted a law to protect Christians (about 1.6% of the population, ed.)”.
Bhatti proposes certain interventions to prevent widespread condemnation by the “people” that mobilizes thousands of people against small communities, inflamed by false accusations, without the police ever intervening. “First of all, security and protection should be guaranteed, so that there are no more victims in the future. It would be necessary to have a military force that intervenes effectively,” explains Paul Bhatti to . “There must also be punishment for those who abuse the blasphemy law. It should be officially declared that no one can teach a person to kill or die in the name of religion.” On this, a few minutes earlier, in the public dialogue in Trieste, he had stated that “extremists, fanatics who take justice into their own hands, I do not think they belong to any religion.” Shahbaz Bhatti was a victim of this extremist ideology that questioned his aversion to the blasphemy law.
Paul Bhatti also spoke of the intimacy of a fraternal relationship lived at a distance, between Italy and Pakistan. “I knew Shahbaz as a younger brother, I did not know him as a person who dedicated his life to Pakistan, who tried to unite the different religions, who tried to eliminate hatred from the country,” he confided. When he rushed back to Pakistan for the funeral and saw an impressive and varied popular participation, he met with the president of Pakistan, Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, prime minister victim of a suicide attack in 2007. It was there that the decision was born not to retire, because otherwise “there will be no one to carry forward this unity, this dialogue, this strength, against an ideology that we must eliminate. Shahbaz’s mission must continue,” he said before more than 500 people at the Social Week event.
The dialogue in Piazza Verdi also recalled Shahbaz Bhatti’s commitment to improving the conditions of detention of Asia Bibi, a young Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. “First of all, Shahbaz was convinced, regardless of whether this law was just or wrong, that she had not committed this crime,” said Paul, recalling that there are many similar cases. When Shahbaz was appointed minister, the threats directed against him intensified, especially after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the Muslim governor of Punjab, who was also involved in the defence of Asia Bibi. “In addition to this love for Pakistan, Shahbaz had a strong faith. In his spiritual testament he says that he would feel lucky if in this battle Jesus accepted the sacrifice of his life,” he added.
Shahbaz Bhatti’s Bible is currently in Rome, in the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola, dedicated to the “new martyrs.” And it is expected that in the not too distant future the process of beatification for martyrdom in odium fidei, promoted by the archdiocese of Islamabad, will also be concluded. But it is a long road. “People need to present their testimony, which must be recorded,” he told Paul Bhatti. But there is still hope.
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