WASHINGTON: Political leaders, activists, and religious figures voiced hope for greater tolerance as they mourned slain minister for minorities’ affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, at a tribute organised by a Washington-based group on the 10th anniversary of his assassination. Bhatti, a member of the Christian community who sought reforms to blasphemy laws, was shot at least 25 times as he left his mother’s house on March 2, 2011. Afghanistan-based militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the killing of Bhatti, who had faced particular backlash for defending Asia Bibi, a Christian villager sentenced to death on blasphemy allegations but later freed. Bhatti “helped many poor people like me who were oppressed and helpless,” Bibi said in a video message for the event, organized by the Religious Freedom Institute. “Ten years later, we remember you, we pray for you and we pray that what you wanted to change, we may be able to change and have a fair and just country to live in,” he said.

Source: Pakistan Today March 03, 2021 07:18 UTC