THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pakistan is being swamped by a rising tide of religious hatred, while its political leaders remain silent, writes Praveen Swami.
Fewer than a thousand people made their way to Islamabad’s Khatun-i-Fatima church yesterday to mourn the passing of Shahbaz Bhatti: diplomats and journalists far outnumbered the politicians who claimed to have been proud to have called Pakistan’s assassinated religious minorities minister a friend.
Yusuf Raza Geelani, prime minister of Pakistan, fondly recalled spending time with Mr Bhatti in the church at Christmas, and promised to bring his assassins to justice, but had not one word to say about the cause his colleague died for. Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, was unable to attend.
Mr Bhatti is the second politician to have been killed in recent weeks for demanding amendments to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. His colleague Salman Taseer, the governor of the province of Punjab, was shot dead by one of his own guards in January. Incredibly, Mr Taseer’s assassin was showered with rose petals by lawyers when he was first brought to face trial, while clerical groups organised giant protests to applaud his actions.
Pakistan’s political establishment, though, has been silent in the face of a rising tide of religious hatred. The battle over the blasphemy laws is just one part of a larger war over religion and identity that is threatening the foundations of the nuclear-armed state – but its leaders seem to have neither the will nor the ability to drag it away from disaster. Continue reading and comment >>> Praveen Swami | Saturday, March 05, 2011
Wherever you find Islam, you find bloodshed! – Mark
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