The trial for the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti is moving slowly
The Anti-terrorism Military Court in Islamabad issued a forced subpoena for seven witnesses who did not present themselves in the trial for the murder of the government minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was killed on March 2, 2011 in Islamabad. Bhatti, a Catholic, was the Federal Minister for Minority Affairs, the only Christian in the cabinet and an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
"Five years have gone by and the Pakistani justice is moving slowly. The murderers of the Catholic minister have not been brought to justice", notes a source of Fides.
Well-known defender of human rights in Pakistan, Bhatti was brutally murdered in Islamabad while he was in his car near his home. The murder was claimed by the terrorist group 'Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan', who left a leaflet describing him as 'a Christian infidel' at the scene of the crime.
"Since the killing of Bhatti, the political leadership in Pakistan has not been doing enough to ask the police and the judiciary to ensure his killers are brought to justice", noted the same source. Christians in Pakistan fear impunity for the killers.
In 2015 the case was transferred to a military court. Before this happened however, the man who confessed to the murder of Bhatti, Umer Abdullah, had been released on bail in 2014 by an earlier court. This same man is accused of killing in 2013, Chaudary Zulfiqar, the prosecutor in the case of the murder of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto. Abdullah is now paralysed as a result of being shot in the back by the prosecutor’s body guards. His release on bail was for medical reasons.
Among the other suspects arrested for Bhatti’s murder, Zia-ul-Rehman was acquitted in May 2012 for lack of evidence. In August 2013 Hammad Adil and Muhammad Tanveer, two militants of the 'Tehreek-e-Taliban' group, were arrested by the police for the attempted attack on a Shiite mosque. During the investigation Adil confessed to having organized and carried out the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, with Muhammad Tanveer and Umer Abdullah’s car. According to investigators, Adil guarded Bhatti’s house and prepared the plan, while Tanveer provided the AK-47 rifles and other weapons used in the ambush.
Source: Agenzia Fides - Islamabad, Pakistan November 30, 2016
Mission Intention for January
That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.
Mission Intention for February
That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.
Read more from The Far East, January/February 2017