Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - The Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has issued an arrest warrant against two men suspected of being the Christian Shahbaz Bhatti’s perpetrators. Bhatti was the minister of religious minorities and was killed on 2 March in Islamabad. The arrest warrants regards two militants Ziaur Rehman and Malik Abid. According to police officials, the two have fled to Dubai and the help of Interpol to capture and deport them will be asked.
"It is a step in the right direction. We welcome this news with satisfaction and hope that the real culprits are caught and punished according to law", said His Exc. Mgr. Lawrence Saldanha, Archbishop Emeritus of Lahore to Fides. "The arrest and trial of those responsible would be an important sign for the protection of minorities and Christians in the country. We are still very shocked and saddened by the death of our leader Bhatti".
"On the other hand - the Archbishop continues - we realize that trials, when politics intervenes, the pressures of influential people, the influences of Islamic fundamentalist groups, often end in a stalemate. With regards to Bhatti’s murder, everything depends on the judges. We hope justice is done, so the whole country can benefit".
The weakness of Pakistan in prosecuting terrorists was underlined by the recent Report on behalf of the U.S. State Department’s "Country Reports on Terrorism", published last week. Pakistan - notes the document - is not able to prosecute those accused of terrorism, since three of the four defendants are acquitted (acquittal rate of 75%) and many cases remain unsolved and unpunished. The Report also criticizes the inability of Islamabad to outlaw militant Islamic groups which escape bans by changing their names.
According to other analysts of the U.S. Pentagon, currently the "nerve center" of the terrorist network known to the world as, Al-Qaeda is still in Pakistan, although the recent killings of Osama bin Laden and the No 2, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, have dealt a severe blow to the global terrorist organization. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 01/09/2011)
