"This is a major concern for not only the Christian community but for all of us. It is my concern too. These laws have been used as a tool by extremists to settle personal scores. They have been used to grab properties of Christians and other non-Muslims. The blasphemy laws carry mandatory death penalty. We must stop the abuse of these laws and we will," the PPP chairman expressed these views while addressing a memorial ceremony on the death anniversary of assassinated Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti held here on Friday.
He said, "Shahbaz Bhatti's assassination at the hands of the bigots was not just a loss of a political party but a loss of the nation."
"The PPP believes in defending the rights of all minorities. For the first time it offered four seats in the Senate to the non-Muslim Pakistanis. Senate elections are due tomorrow. The PPP has nominated Anwar Lal Dean - a Christian - on a reserved seat from Sindh. In addition we have nominated Krishna Kolhi to a general seat for women," he said.
Bilawal said that during the last PPP government it was decided that August 11 will be observed as the "Minorities Day" every year. It was done to imbibe the true meaning of the Quaid's speech on August 11, 1947, before the Constituent Assembly.
"In that historic speech, the Quaid laid down the state policy in the following words. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with business of the state," he said.
"If we want a stable and prosperous Pakistan, we must revert to the foundational principles enunciated by the Quaid. A great disservice done by dictatorship is the drift away from the path envisioned by the Quaid. It was a great disservice to privatize Jehad. The project 'Private Jehad' has brought the state and society face to face with existential threat. We must dismantle the project 'Private Jehad'. We must drive out all those from among ourselves who promote and support militants, extremists and religious fanatics. We will fight sectarianism, militancy and extremism. We will fight it for peace and security. We will fight it tooth and nail and will restore the confidence of the people, Muslims and Non-Muslims alike," he said.
"I also wish to pay tribute to those courageous individuals who have suffered at the hands of militants and extremists for supporting and promulgating interfaith harmony. They are the heroes and heroines of the nation. The bigots and extremists continue to exploit blasphemy laws. They want to impose on the people their own version of religious edicts. The PPP rejects their narrow and bigoted narrative of Islamic tenets. We will continue to oppose and resist them," the PPP chairman reiterated.
He said that Shahbaz Bhatti was 42 and a Federal Minister then when brutally murdered. He said that the man (Bhatti) who wanted to make this world tolerant, was assassinated in Islamabad. He was assassinated in broad daylight just when he walked out of his mother's house, he said.
He said that to make Pakistan and this world more beautiful and more tolerant, Shahbaz Bhatti launched interfaith initiatives. "He sought to demolish walls that divide, and replace them with bridges that unite and connect. He was an integral part of our struggle for restoration of democracy. He preached tolerance, love and togetherness," Bilawal said.
"Today we have a broad based national consensus against terrorism and extremism. Where as a decade ago there was lack of consensus on fight against extremism and terrorism. As a member of the PPP and the first minister of minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti strove to build a national consensus and ultimately in July 2010 great majority of religious leaders issued a joint statement denouncing terrorism," he said.
Bilawal said that freedom was promised by the founder of Pakistan - Quaid-e-Azam. The dictatorship went little too far, even deleted the word 'freely' from the preamble of the Constitution in relation to the right to worship of non-Muslims, he added.
"That manipulation of the Constitution was reversed only in the 18th Amendment spearheaded by the PPP. The word 'freely' in relation to professing religion by every citizen has been restored," he further said.
"Bhatti joined the PPP under my mother Shaheed Benazir Bhutto's capable and just leadership who held him in high esteem. Bhatti was a victim of the misuse of blasphemy law simply to settle personal scores. In keeping with the vision of his leadership, he valiantly fought for fair investigation in the case of Aasia Noreen, the Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, a charge she always denied," Bilawal said.