National Assembly body condemns Shahbaz Bhatti's murder

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Minorities on Saturday strongly condemned the assassination of former Minister for Minorities' Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti through a resolution adopted unanimously. The committee, which met with Mahesh Kumar Malani in the chair here at the Parliament House also vowed to move the resolution in the National Assembly, so as the House should also condemn the murder of the former federal minister, who was assassinated by unknown gunmen on March 2, 2011.
The resolution, passed by the committee says "Pakistan was created with a vision for tolerance and interfaith harmony by its founders led by the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It further stated that "recognising the innumerable contributions and sacrifices of the Christian community for creation of Pakistan, especially, their commitment to education, health and social justice, we, the members of the Standing Committee on Minorities Affairs, condemn the cold blooded murder of the Minister for Minority Affairs, Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti."
The committee also expressed its deepest sympathies with the family of late Bhatti in particular and to the Christian community in general and reiterated that the political parties, the government, the judiciary, the security establishment, the media, and the civil society join hands to exclude and reject dark forces of obscurantism in our midst that threaten Pakistan.
The committee also paid tribute to Shahbaz Bhatti terming him a true patriot who stood by Quald-e-Azam's vision of a tolerant nation where communities having different faiths, freely practice their religions and for his commitment to create religious harmony, and promote interfaith dialogue.
"Now, therefore, we the members of the committee; urge the government to conduct a judicial inquiry to unveil the murderers and give them exemplary punishment," the committee demanded in the resolution. The panel also recommended that Shahbaz Bhatti be conferred with highest award of courage and peace and formation of interfaith commission dedicated to his vision and commitment for an ongoing interfaith dialogue.
The committee also urged the government to take immediate steps to protect minorities and to form a commission that examines all policies, that discriminate against them. The committee was also briefed by the officials of the Ministry of Minorities' Affairs on the scholarships awarded to minorities' students during the year 2009-10.
Giving province-wise break-up of scholarships granted during the period, the committee was informed that out of thousands of minorities students applications, 5,705 were found eligible which demanded an amount to the tune of Rs 23,676,000. It was further told that as per criteria, 1,101 scholarships of an amount of Rs 3,937,200 were given in Punjab, 1,324 scholarships amounting Rs 4,624,800 were given in Sindh. While 339 scholarships of Rs 1,045,200 were granted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2,782 scholarships amounting Rs 9,960,000 were granted to minorities' students in Balochistan.