Pakistani minister gunned down
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
ISLAMABAD - Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants on Wednesday shot dead Pakistan's
Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti in broad daylight, then fled the
scene in an automobile.
The four militants left pamphlets saying that the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan
(Pakistani Taliban - TTP) and the Fidayan-e-al-Qaeda had killed Bhatti, who was
the only Christian in the cabinet, because of his opposition to a harsh
blasphemy law that imposes the death penalty on those considered to have
insulted Islam.
TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ahsan called media organizations to
claim responsibility for the assasination.
Bhatti was on his way to a cabinet meeting when the attackers struck in a
residential area reserved mostly for top foreign and civil service bureaucrats.
The attackers blocked his car before spraying it with bullets.
The killing follows the assassination on January 4 of Punjab
provincial governor Salman Taseer, who was also a strong critic of the
blasphemy law and who had sought presidential pardon for a Christian. Taseer's
confessed killer - his security guard Malik Mumtaz Qadri - said he had killed
Taseer because of his criticism of the law.
Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, was appointed in 2008,
and at the time said he had accepted the post for the sake of the "oppressed,
down-trodden and marginalized" of Pakistan and that he had dedicated his life
to "struggle for human equality, social justice, religious freedom and to
uplift and empower the religious minorities' communities".
After Taseer's killing, intelligence agencies warned of possible strikes on
Bhatti as well as on former information minister and member of parliament
Sherry Rahman, who with Taseer and Bhatti had led a liberal segment of society
to mobilize public opinion against the blasphemy law. Rahman had also presented
a private bill in parliament to propose amendments to the law
The government completely distanced itself from the three who were campaigning
against what they called a "black law", and after Taseer's death it was made
clear that there would be no changes to the controversial legislation.
Bhatti and Rahman continued to speak out in public, though, and the minister
has now paid with his life.
Militants have made it clear that they intend to break a ceasefire agreement
not to attack Pakistani cities, and security officials fear major terror
activity this year, especially as militants have regrouped in many parts of the
tribal areas as well as in the cities of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, from
where they were routed last year. Mardan, which is close to Islamabad, has
experienced at least three high-profile attacks in the past few weeks,
including one on a Punjab regimental center and Tuesday's attack on a girls'
college.
Bhatti’s murder was carefully planned; the militants had obviously cased the
area, knew his schedule, had pamphlets published in advance claiming
responsibility, and managed to enter and exit what is supposed to be a secure
zone unscathed. This points to the militants' increasing capacity to hit any
target of their choice despite the government's best security efforts.
The incident also brings into question the ideological underpinning of the
militancy in Pakistan. Despite successful military operations in Swat, South
Waziristan and other tribal areas, it has not been possible to uproot the
militants. Until a coherent ideological discourse is opened that could defeat
the arguments of the militants in their own jargon, the concept of complete
security in Pakistani society remains a dream.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief and
author of upcoming book Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban, beyond 9/11 published
by Pluto Press, UK. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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