Pakistan’s Ambassador Husain Haqqani will hold a special memorial service Wednesday in honor of slain Federal Minister for Minorities’ Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC.
Bhatti, who was the only Christian cabinet member in Pakistan, was shot multiple times by militant Islamists last week as he was leaving his mother’s home. He was well respected for defending the rights of minority Christians in Pakistan and spoke out against Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws. He was threatened for defending Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old Christian mother-of-five, who denies that she blasphemed the prophet Mohammed.
Majed el-Shafie, an Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity and is president of One Free World Ministries, said Bhatti’s “death is a tragic loss for Pakistan and the whole world.”