Shahbaz Bhatti: A tribute to a braveheart

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Shahbaz Bhatti's memorial meeting at the Pakistan High Commission (March 16) was definitely a profoundly sad occasion for all to remember a person who laid down his life for a united and strong Pakistan.

This tribute to him is a humble acknowledgment--in solemn gratitude-- of his selfless struggle for high and noble ideals he so cherished. Those ideals have been a clarion call for every Pakistani to make his country-our country--a place where every citizen has equal rights without fear or favour.

Bhatti laid down his life at a time when he was most needed. In his official capacity, he represented the interests of Pakistan's religious minorities. However, Bhatti also stood for the vision of Pakistan's founding father, Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, martyred Zulfikaur Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto that in Pakistan all its citizens will enjoy equal rights-irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender. Its politics was to be characterised by pluralism, rule of law, freedom to practice all faiths and that religion will have nothing to do with the running of the business of the state.

Therefore, it would not be a befitting tribute to the fallen hero if he is just branded as a leader of the minorities or Christians. He belonged to all those brave hearts ready to sacrifice for the alleviation of the sufferings of the common people. Punjab Governor Salman Taseer died for the same noble ideals. So did Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who gave her noble blood to singe obscurantism from Pakistan's body-politics.

The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti has been a great blow to Pakistan. And what is more shocking is the lukewarm attitude of the great majority including the intellectuals, liberals and members of civil society. Lest we have forgotten, let us remember the famous statement of Martin Niemoller. If we keep silence we could all be next.

"First they came..." is the famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group as follows:

"First they came for the communists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

"Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

"Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

"Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak out for me".

A this juncture of our history when we are in a battle to "do or die" all Pakistanis will have to rise and raise our voice in full throated thunder to counter those who are hell-bent in destroying Quaid-e-Azam's Pakistan. Nation's best revenge would be to revert and revive Mr Jinnah's vision of a tolerant, progressive, liberal and egalitarian Pakistan ensuring Islamic social justice to all its citizens--irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender.

We have to repair over 30 years of damage which the Afghan crisis has unleashed on our peace loving people that has distorted our socio-economic and political moorings. We never had religious intolerance in our society prior to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The religious bigotry received boost during the dictatorial regimes of General Zia and General Musharraf because these usurpers lacked domestic support and needed legitimacy from foreign masters to sustain themselves in power with outside help. Unfortunately, these dictators and extremists flourished together with the support of our Western friends.

As a youth Shahbaz Bhatti was the rising star as the crusader for the rights of the less privileged. His life and academic career itself speaks volumes about a person who was cut above the rest; he knew what he was up against but he also knew his ideals would resonate in the country despite temporary setbacks.

Bhatti founded the Christian Liberation Front (CLF) in 1985 while still being a student leader. The CLF initiative was a brave decision to counter the deteriorating treatment of non-Muslims under the regime of General Zia (1977-88). His group was violently opposed from the start. In 1992 CLF launched the first national campaign against the blasphemy laws introduced by General Zia to castrate the political will of the nation.

In 2002, Bhatti and comrades founded the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), and Bhatti was unanimously elected to lead this nationwide coalition of minority representatives and NGOs. It succeeded in convincing the government to replace the separate electorate system, described as "religious apartheid", under which religious minorities could vote only for candidates of their own faith.

As federal minister, Shahbaz Bhatti was always on the move for his people. His achievements include a 5% increase in quota for minorities in government jobs, the first minority seats in the Senate and a 24-hour minorities helpline. He further launched a network of "district interfaith harmony committees" to encourage dialogue and unite communities through common concerns.

Inspired to carry forward his mission by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Shahbaz sought to acquire for Pakistan a lead role to be emulated by others in a state of deprivation. Just as the Zia regime imposed blasphemy laws he fought against for so many years are not and should not be portrayed as a 'religious minority issue', so too his death reflects a problem of relevance to all Pakistanis.

Bhatti sought to address both the laws and the social attitudes that were abused for individual and collective selfish motives. His focus was to stop abuse of religions as a divisive force, seeking to lessen the misty space in which hate speech thrives. He encouraged open dialogue and cooperation between neighbours of different backgrounds and opinions by ushering in interfaith harmony.

It is a thought-provoking truth that the most important aspects of Bhatti's work were never covered by the media. Over the course of 2010 he quietly and consistently negotiated possible amendments to the blasphemy laws with his political colleagues, including those most naturally opposed to change of any kind. He sought a consensus from which a bill of amendments was to be launched and approved by the National Assembly. Most importantly, he saw Pakistan leading the way by example through its 'District Interfaith Harmony Committees' and other such initiatives.

It is time for us to make a resolve that the work Shahbaz had started won't be abandoned. As a living monument to his memory his dream for the establishment of an International Centre for Interfaith Harmony in Islamabad must soon become a reality. We must also hope that it will become possible for the other brave voices to step forward; for there are undoubtedly many already working diligently to improve the plight of their less privileged countrymen.

Let there be no doubt that overwhelming majority of Pakistanis will defeat the forces of obscurantism with determination and resilience. In conclusion I will refer to a verse of Holy Quran:

"...If anyone kills a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all people. And if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people" (Qur'an 5:32).

(Wajid Shamsul Hasan, High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK, spoke on the Memorial Function for martyred Pakistani Minister Shahbaz Bhatti on March 16, 2011)