Brussels, 11/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has strongly condemned the brutal murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities in the government of Pakistan, on 2 March and calls on the country's government to repeal all discriminatory laws, including the blasphemy law.
Adopting a resolution on Thursday 10 March on this issue, the EP paid tribute to Shahbaz Bhatti for his fight against the blasphemy law and the injustice encouraged by it. The EP “urges the Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of Shahbaz Bhatti's murder and bring all perpetrators of this crime rapidly to justice in accordance with the strict rule of law, as well as to ensure the swift and fair prosecution of the late Governor Salman Taseer's killer” (Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab, was killed two months ago). The EP “encourages the government of Pakistan to appoint without delay a new minister for minorities and affirms its position that this person should be a strong and impartial minority representative”.
The EP “is deeply concerned about the climate of intolerance and violence and urges the government of Pakistan to prosecute those inciting violence in Pakistan, in particular those calling for and, in some cases, offering rewards for the deaths of individuals and groups with whom they disagree.” The EP “calls for an urgent and meaningful policy shift away from appeasement of such extremists to be supported by the military, the judiciary, the media and the political class alike, given that the status quo has produced such dramatic consequences; calls on the government of Pakistan not to let voices in favour of religious tolerance and respect for universal principles of human rights in the country be silenced by extremists” and calls on the competent EU bodies to include religious tolerance in the EU's political dialogue with Pakistan as a key question in the fight against religious extremism. (L.C./transl.fl)