by ANITA JOSHUA
Pakistan’s Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti had predicted a possible violent death for himself in the wake of the assassination of party colleague and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on January 4. And, the civil society in Pakistan has lived in fear of such an eventuality since. Still, when news of the minister being gunned down near his house in Islamabad came, it left everyone shell-shocked and fearful as the already negligible space for discourse shrunk further.
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In a particularly blunt statement, British High Commissioner Adam Thomson said: “It poses questions about what kind of society Pakistan wants to become.” Describing the assassination as a “callous, cowardly attack’’, he added that the U. K. would continue to work side by side with Pakistan to help secure a brighter, more stable future for this country – “a future in which extremists are not allowed to threaten or intimidate Pakistan’s democratic process and debate”.
Condemning the assassination, U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter said his country would stand with the people and government of Pakistan in their fight against the forces of intolerance and violent extremism that is a threat to all.
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