http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/christian-government-minister-slain-in-pakistan-20110303-1bf74.html
Christian government minister slain in Pakistan Sajjad Tarakzai March 3, 2011 - 8:44AM Gunmen shot dead a Catholic Pakistani government minister in broad daylight on Wednesday, claiming a second high-profile victim among beleaguered opponents of an Islamic blasphemy law. The assailants sprayed at least 25 bullets at the car of minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti after he came out of his mother's home in a residential area of Islamabad, police said. A letter was found at the scene, purportedly from supporters of Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, claiming responsibility, police said. The killing sparked strong international condemnation. US President Barack Obama said Bhatti's killers must be brought to justice and said he was saddened by the "horrific" assassination. Washington is a key ally of Pakistan in the fight against militancy in the nuclear-armed country. EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton strongly condemned the slaying and expressed deep concern "about the climate of intolerance and violence linked to the debate on the controversial blasphemy laws". And the Vatican slammed Bhatti's assassination as "unspeakable". Bhatti, 42, had defied death threats after the assassination of the governor of Punjab two months ago, conceding to AFP at the time that he was "the highest target right now" but vowing to continue his work and trusting his life to God. "Three or four armed men riding in a white Suzuki car intercepted his official vehicle," city police chief Wajid Durrani told reporters. "The attackers were clad in shawls and fired bursts on him, and he died." Durrani insisted that Bhatti had been provided with proper security but said the minister was not accompanied by his bodyguards when the attack happened late in the morning. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited the hospital and offered condolences to Bhatti's grieving relatives. "Such acts will not deter the government's resolve to fight terrorism and extremism," he said, pledging that the killers would be punished. A member of Pakistan's tiny Christian community, Bhatti had been a vocal opponent of the controversial blasphemy law along with the liberal late governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, who was killed in January. Police said they were investigating a letter found at the site of the latest attack, purportedly written by supporters of Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. "It accused Shahbaz Bhatti of waging a campaign to amend the blasphemy law," a senior police officer told AFP. "Bhatti, a Christian, was in charge of a committee set up to amend the law against blasphemy," the letter said. "This is his fate. We will not spare anybody involved in acts of blasphemy." Pakistan's law against blaspheming Islam carries the death penalty. While no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime, activists say the law is abused in business or personal disputes. Following Bhatti's death up to 100 Christians rallied in the central city of Multan demanding those responsible be caught, chanting slogans condemning the killing, burning tyres and blocking a road, witnesses said. India joined the international community in condemning the assassination, with a foreign ministry statement saying: "We convey our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, the people and the government of Pakistan on the tragic assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti. We condemn this dastardly crime." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff expressed "shock and outrage and anger" in parliament over the killing. The murder of Taseer was the most high-profile political assassination in Pakistan since former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in December 2007. After Taseer's assassination, Bhatti had told AFP: "We need to stand against these forces of terrorism because they're terrorising the country. "I cannot trust on security... I believe that protection can come only from heaven, so these bodyguards can't save you." Controversy over the blasphemy legislation flared both within Pakistan and internationally after a Christian mother-of-five, Aasia Bibi, was sentenced to hang last year for making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. Politicians and conservative clerics have been at loggerheads over whether Bibi should be pardoned. But following Taseer's death, the government made it clear it does not support reform of the blasphemy law. Only around three percent of Pakistan's population of 167 million are estimated to be non-Muslim. 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