DR. Paul Bhatti, elder brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, the slain federal minister for minority affairs in Pakistan, has expressed his ‘grave concern’ over the probe into the murder of his brother.
Dr. Bhatti, the newly elected Chairman for the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), said, “Three weeks have been passed, but nothing has been shared with the nation and mourning minorities in Pakistan. No replacement has been announced yet in the National Assembly after the martyrdom of Mr. Bhatti.”
Dr. Bhatti has demanded that government of Pakistan establish a ‘judicial commission’ to probe his brother’s murder which took place at the start of this month.
Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in the cabinet of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was assassinated shortly after he left his mother’s house, when his car was riddled with bullets and pamphlets were found around the vehicle after the killers fled the scene.
The pamphlets were reported by BBC News to have been written by al-Qaeda and a branch of the al-Qaeda from Punjab Province.
ANS has now learned that the Federal Home Secretary has briefed the media on Sunday, March 20, 2011, that one of the killers has been arrested. The secretary revealed that the detainee had confessed and that his associate(s) “had plans to kill more members of the National Assembly.”
Mr. J. Salik, a former Christian member National Assembly and Minister for Social Welfare and Population has formed a delegation and held a recent meeting with the Inspector General of Police in Islamabad, ‘to let the minorities know the facts about the murder of Mr. Bhatti.’
However, according to Salik, the Police chief would not share any information about the investigation for ‘various reasons.’
Talking to ANS, Rasheed Jalal, District President of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) said: “It is sad to say that Pakistan People’s Party is the party of Mr. Bhatti and is not taking seriously the murder of Mr. Bhatti to restore the confidence of minorities in Pakistan.”
Johnson Gill, a youth leader said: “The government is losing the confidence of the people. The prime minister was having a consultation to appoint Mr. Paul Bhatti as the special advisor to Prime Minister of Pakistan for minorities’ affairs but no progress has been made in this regard.”
Since his violence killing, there have been many protests against the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti by civil society organizations and religious minorities in Pakistan. ANS
