By IANS,
Islamabad : The real culprit behind the killing of Shahbaz Bhatti, the only federal minister who was a Christian, is “an extremist mindset that has spread far and wide in Pakistani society”, said a leading Pakistani daily as it noted that if nobody stands up, the extremists will win.
The editorial appeared in the Dawn Thursday, a day after Bhatti was assassinated in the heart of Islamabad when he was leaving for office. The minister had been seeking reform to the controversial blasphemy law. He became the second high-profile person to die after Punjab governor Salman Taseer who was shot dead by his own body guard Jan 4.
The editorial said: “The cold, calculated assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti…is yet another blow to the idea of Jinnah’s Pakistan.”
Muhammad Ali Jinnah led the movement that led to the creation of the state of Pakistan in August 1947.
“Bhatti’s killers may have escaped the scene of the crime, but the real culprit is known to all: an extremist mindset that has, with the sponsorship of some institutions of the state, spread far and wide in Pakistani society.
“The tragic irony of a country created to protect the rights of a minority – Muslims in unified India – turning into a killing field for those standing up for the rights of minorities evokes a deep sense of pathos and helplessness.”
It wondered as to how Bhatti “was left exposed to those who sought to kill him?”
Rejecting the police explanation that the slain minister rejected round-the-clock protection, the editorial said: “It was the job of the authorities to keep Bhatti safe…A bullet-proof vehicle could also have saved Bhatti’s life. Was the threat to him not clear enough? Is the best security only reserved for self-described ‘VVIPs’?”
The editorial also asked that “when will those responsible for shaping the policies of the state recognise that retreat in the battle against fanaticism and intolerance only gives the extremists more space?”
It went on to say that institutions of the state “which have had a hand in creating and sustaining the culture of jihad and militancy also appear dangerously tolerant of certain mindsets so long as they serve some perceived tactical or strategic goals”.
“The political class is too often too unsettled and unsure of its position to challenge entrenched policies and mindsets. But if nobody stands up, if nobody tries to fight for what is good and right, the extremists will surely win.”