Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - The new Federal Minister for inter-faith Harmony and Minorities, announced in past days by the Pakistani government (see Fides 09/05/2011), was born "poor", as it has no allocation of funds from the government. Fides sources in Pakistan denounce politicians with disappointment and underline that without adequate funding, the Ministry is likely to have a "purely decorative" function and will not be able to implement any concrete initiative for the promotion and protection of religious minorities in Pakistan. The Department only provides funds to advance the administrative sector, but has no funds useful for its activities. Shahbaz Bhatti, before his death, had obtained a promise of funding by the U.S. just to promote inter-faith dialogue in Pakistan, but it remains, for now, a verbal commitment, besides this would also be a source of cooperation from abroad and not domestic.
Among the Christian minorities in Pakistan there is disappointment and dismay. What is clear is, a source of Fides observes, "the political ballet produced in this department , after the death of Shahbaz Bhatti." Before the name of Senator Hindu Khatu Mal Jeewani had been made(see Fides 05/04/2011), then it seemed that Paul Bhatti, already appointed Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Minority Affairs, was to take the post that was his brother`s, subsequently, the appointment of a Muslim Minister, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, disturbed the scene and generated complaints by religious minorities, and finally the confirmation of the Catholic lawyer Akram Gill, who with the help of Paul Bhatti , will manage the organization. It seems that Pirzada wanted to leave the office on the one hand because he is not considered popular by the minorities, on the other hand because "he realized that the Ministry did not have economic resources," explains a source of Fides.
According to some observers, a political manoeuvre is in progress to weaken the Ministry of minority after the death of Shahbaz Bhatti: with the late minister, in fact, the Department had become rather "uncomfortable" politically, for issues raised within the country ( blasphemy, conversions, religious freedom, etc) and especially for the supports and the vast network of international relations that he had formed all over the world, capable of influencing the political action of the Pakistani government.
With regards to the murder of Bhatti "we expect enlightenment and are still awaiting results of the investigations. We hope there are no ongoing attempts to cover-up or to put the matter into oblivion, leaving the guilty unpunished " local sources of Fides note. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 05/11/2011)
