Brother of Murdered Pakistani Christian Minister Says Minorities Fear Speaking Out for Rights

Paul Bhatti, brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, has told the UK Parliament that extremists in Pakistan have frightened Christians and other religious minorities into silence. He has called for an inquiry into how religious minorities are treated in the country.

In 2008, Shahbaz Bhatti became Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minority Affairs. He was the only Christian in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. As minister, he spoke out in support of Christians attacked in the 2009 Gojra riots and of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. After a lengthy legal battle and many years in prison, Bibi was released and granted asylum in Canada.

Shahbaz Bhatti’s advocacy for Christians brought ever-increasing death threats. He was assassinated in 2011 by the Pakistani Taliban. Following his death, his brother Paul became Minister of National Harmony and Minority Affairs.

Speaking to British parliamentarians at the launch of a report on persecuted Christians produced by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Paul Bhatti said that the influence of Islamic extremists in Pakistan has grown and has left religious minorities too afraid to defend their rights. “In the years since [Shahbaz Bhatti’s] martyrdom, many human rights and religious freedom advocates have fallen silent out of fear that extremists might target them,” he said. “As a result, religious minorities have continued to face persecution, including the misuse of blasphemy laws, abductions, forced conversion and forced marriages.” He added, “We urgently need to raise awareness of the reality of persecution of Christians and other religious minorities around the world today.”

Dr John Newton, editor of the ACN report, also spoke at the launch. He said that religion is bound up with factors such as ethnicity, gender and social status that can make individuals highly vulnerable to persecution. He argued that a lack of religious literacy in the West often leads to anti-Christian hostility being downplayed or omitted in favour of other factors. “I hope this report will inspire us to speak out for those who cannot, to stand with those who endure persecution,” he said, a call to protect the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Paul Bhatti called for a British parliamentary inquiry into the treatment of religious minorities around the world. He suggested that it be led by either the Foreign Affairs Select Committee or the Joint Committee on Human Rights. He also said the British government should produce a response to any future inquiry.

Source: Read the original report