October 16, 1951, stands out as a black day in the history of Pakistan as a date when the first Prime Minister of the country, Liaquat Ali Khan, was shot dead during a public rally in Rawalpindi Company Gardens and started the era of political assassination in Pakistan. The shootings, terrorist and suicide attacks that have continued with frequent intervals for more than seven decades took the lives of several politicians, including former premier Benazir Bhutto, her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Gujrat's Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, Punjab's former home minister Shuja Khanzada and former minister for minorities Shabaz Bhatti. Shahbaz Bhatti was born on 9 September 1968, in Lahore to Christian parents from the Faisabad District. His father Jacob Bhatti served as an officer of the British Army. As student in 1985 he founded and served as head of Pakistan’s Christian Liberation Front. He founded the All-Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) in 2002 and was elected as its chairman. He met with President Pervez Musharraf as part of group of minority rights advocates. Bhatti was appointed as Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs on 2 November 2008. During his tenure as federal minister for minorities, he took numerous steps in support of religious minorities to include launch of a national campaign to promote interfaith harmony, proposal of ban to hate speech, introduction of comparative religion as a subject in study curriculum and lastly the reservation of four Senate seats for minorities.
Bhatti started receiving death threats since 2009, when he spoke in support of Pakistani Christians attacked in 2009 Gojra riots in Punjab Province. These threats increased exponentially when he started supporting Asia Bibi , a Pakistani Christian sentenced to death in 2010 for blasphemy. Bhatti had foretold his death and had recorded a video which was to be released in case of his death, where he said "I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us, and I am ready to die for a cause . I am living for my community and I will die to defend their rights". Mr Bhatti, the cabinet's only Christian minister had received threats for urging reform to blasphemy laws. In January 11, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who had also opposed the law, was shot dead by one of his bodyguards. The blasphemy law carries a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. It has practiced over the years for harassment of minorities in Pakistan.
But it was this campaign for the right of minorities that in the end cost Shahbaz, his own life. On March 2, 2011, he was assassinated- gunned down in broad daylight on his way to work. The only Christian minister in Pakistan National Assembly was brutally killed. It marked the lowest point in the era for rights of minorities in Pakistan, and several hopes were shattered. In the years since Bhatti’s death,violent extremism has in creased in Pakistan, and religious minorities remain a target, particularly Shia and Ahmadi Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs. The group Tehrik-i-Taliban told the BBC that they carried out the attack, because Bhatti was a "known blasphemer". Pakistan, which brands itself as a democratic state, has all the aspects of a fascist state. Instead of having a culture of openness and tolerance, it has a culture of assassinations to suppress the voice of citizens. For democracy to flourish, a tolerant environment is required, which is very unlikely in the case of Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution has expressly defended a person’s right to live. It has further disallowed the violation of this right in strong words. In addition to this, the Constitution has defended political rights of every person as well. Therefore, assassinating someone for political reasons is unconstitutional and punishable.
The recent assassination attempt on such a popular political figure, while the country is reeling from an economic and political chaos, is nothing less than an assault on the sovereignty of the nation. In an era of backbreaking inflation, soaring unemployment and terrorist resurgence, the introduction of such an incident is one step close to igniting a civil war. Now the question arises; In the period of economic crisis, unemployment, and poverty in Pakistan "Can Pakistan face the turmoil of civil war with Taliban sitting on the head to expense its territory?”
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