news article
Bhutto's assassination: The future of Pakistani Christians looks bleak
Report from Sheraz Khurram Khan a freelance journalist based in Pakistan:- I was taking tea with some of my friends at my home on December 27 evening when one of them looked puzzled after he had finished reading a text on his mobile. Noticing inquisitive looks on our faces he told us the most shocking news of the Year 2007 -- "Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated".
None of us believed it to be true. We continued gossiping as we did not believe in the veracity of the message. Like millions of Pakistanis we least wanted a leader of the caliber of Benazir Bhutto be killed, let alone in a brazen shooting. In about half an hour another friend of mine received a phone call. The caller told him that Benazir Bhutto had succumbed to her injuries. This left us deeply worried. We prayed that it turned out to be a hoax in the end but it was not to be. Alarmed, we contacted a common friend of us who had gone to attend the Pakistan Peoples Party December 27 election rally in Rawalpindi, a city near Islamabad. Much to our chagrin he confirmed that Benazir Bhutto had been slain.
There was no room to doubt the credibility of the report as it had come from someone who was speaking from the venue of election rally. The news left even the liveliest person on the party sad. Some of us tried to shift the topic but it did not work as the discussion would revert to Ms. Bhutto.
Ms. Bhutto, an international icon and the democratic face of Pakistan was very much popular with the people of Pakistan in general and Pakistani minorities in particular, who trusted that Benazir Bhutto would address their problems upon coming into power. For the Christians of Pakistan she was the leader they trusted. Having unflinching faith in her they knew she would never betray them. Instead they hoped they would be treated on the basis of equality during her stint of power. They were filled with deep optimism that their long-standing demand of getting representation in Senate, the upper house of Pakistan parliament would be fulfilled during her term as a premier. Senate has been a no-go area for Pakistani minorities since creation of Pakistan.
Christian rights groups and human rights organizations have long been demanding minorities' representation in the upper house of parliament. They believed without any iota of doubt that all draconian laws perceived as discriminatory by them would be either abolished or amended when her party comes into power. They were also expecting legislation during her tenure as a premier that would increase the number of minorities' representatives' seats in the National Assembly (Lower house of Parliament) as well as in the four provincial assemblies of Pakistan. Ms. Bhutto's murder came as a horrible jolt to Pakistani minorities. It is tantamount to the murder of the wishes, the aspirations and the demands of Pakistani Christians, most of whom are at the bottom rung of society.
With Ms. Bhutto gone Pakistani Christians have lost an enlightened leader, who was convinced that the religious minorities should have equal rights. She has been pledging to ensure minorities' rights after returning to Pakistan. Leaders of the stature of Ms. Bhutto are born after centuries and her tragic assassination has made her immortal. Her death has devastated Pakistani Christians as well as the entire nation because they have lost a leader they adored due to her charisma, eloquence, academic credentials, moderate thoughts and above all due to her lofty vision of transforming Pakistan into a truly democratic, progressive and developed country. A large majority of Pakistani Christians have been voting for the PPP but their tilt toward the party only progressed over the years as Islamists continued to make their life tougher. Rising Islamic militancy is a grave threat to the religious minorities of Pakistan. Pakistani Christian leaders as well as the common Christians ! were fully convinced that the increasing influence of Isla mists could only be checked if someone of the like of Ms. Benazir Bhutto was at the helm of affairs.
Only forces of moderation can defeat the forces of extremism and terrorism who have inflicted colossal loss to the state and to the people of Pakistan. A populist leader's killing of course will encourage the forces of extremism and terrorism which are bent upon tearing up this nation of 160 million people along religious and provincial lines. Her murder has made the Pakistani religious minorities more vulnerable to the attacks by the Islamists. Pakistani Christians were expecting that the late Benazir would take measures to curb militancy not knowing that the embodiment of democracy and human rights would be removed from the world of living in a brutal and bizarre way.
President Musharraf, who has been publicly lashing out at the Islamists had in his government people like former federal minister for religious affairs Ijazul Haq who had once stated that Pakistan Blasphemy laws would not be abolished even if 100,000 people were killed. At times like this Pakistani Christians missed Benazir Bhutto all the more and wished that her Pakistan Peoples Party got back into power. They went to Karachi from across Pakistan to greet her on her arrival in Pakistan on October 18 to express their solidarity with the great leader under the leadership of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance Chief (APMA) Shahbaz Bhatti. Her coming to Pakistan had sprung in their hearts a strong hope of change in the status quo. It merits mentioning here that the APMA is an ally of the Pakistan Peoples Party. The late Benazir had assured the APMA Chief that after coming into power she would attend to the issues confronting Pakistani minorities. "Nobody can ever take her p! lace", said APMA chief Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti in a recent ANS interview.
Some of the Pakistani Christians, who I talked to said that the assassination of Ms. Bhutto had rendered them orphans. Others expressed their apprehensions of attacks on Churches. Yet others said they still were in a state of shock. Most of Pakistani Christians supported Benazir in the belief that only she could counter the Islamists' influence by advocating moderation, tolerance, enlightenment, peace and harmony. Her assassins have cut her life short but she will be long remembered due to her services for the cause of democracy in Pakistan.
8 Jan 2008
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