KARACHI - Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the party will continue to stand by Pakistan’s religious minorities and support them against bigotry in the tradition of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
In a statement marking the first anniversary of the assassination of PPP leader Shahbaz Bhatti, a member of the Christian community, the PPP Chairperson paid tribute to Shahbaz Bhatti’s dedication to Pakistani democracy and the ideal of a more tolerant and inclusive Pakistan. “Pakistan was conceived as a homeland for Muslims where all religious and ethnic groups would live in peace and harmony. It is a tragedy that Quaid-i-Azam’s ideal of a pluralist nation has been distorted under dictatorship to spread an ideology of hate.
It is this ideology of hate that took away from us a great public servant like Shahbaz Bhatti from us,” Bilawal said.
The statement added “The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti soon after that of Salmaan Taseer reminded us of the great obstacles we face in rebuilding Pakistan in accordance with the vision of Quaid-i-Azam, Qauaid-i-Awam and my Shaheed mother. The forces of darkness will not give up easily but neither will we.”
“The blood of martyrs and those committed to a tolerant, democratic, pluralist Pakistan that respects rather than allows the murder of its minorities will not go in vain,” Bilawal concluded.