With sorrow and shock over the recent murder of a 42-year-old man shot dead while on pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Lahore, leading experts in Pakistan are calling for serious and effective social reforms, especially in education, to combat the phenomenon.
By Federico Piana
“He was killed by a group of extremist youths who, as soon as they saw the crucifix around his neck, shot him with a rifle. They also wounded his underage cousin,” said Paul Jacob Bhatti, president of the Shahbaz Bhatti Mission Association, as he mourned Mr. Afzal Masih, the 42-year-old Catholic man murdered during a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Mariamabad, a Christian village in the Archdiocese of Lahore, Pakistan.
“It happened on September 7,” Bhatti explained, “when the murder was committed by someone who firmly believes that killing Christians is a good thing.”
Bhatti’s Association was named after his brother Shahbaz, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Religious Minorities and National Harmony, who was assassinated in 2011 and is now venerated as a Servant of God by the Catholic Church.
The expert has witnessed many such scenes and decries rising violence.
Reform needed amid rising violence
Today, Pakistan is experiencing uncontrolled demographic growth, and serious and effective social reforms are lacking, especially in the field of education.
All of this, Bhatti maintained, is fueling the surge in extremism, which, he observes, does not affect only Christians.
“There are so many doctrines, so many sects have developed — including among Muslims — that even clash with one another,” he explained, adding, “the indoctrination is truly strong.”
Dangerous indoctrination
“Many poor children,” Bhatti added, “are taken to unofficial schools run by these sects, and there, under the pretense of giving them food and drink, they are essentially brainwashed.”
Even if the current government, like previous ones, is aware of this dangerous trend, he suggested, he lamented that its efforts to counter it are insufficient, attributing this political as well as economic instability.
Necessary reforms
Bhatti also pointed out that much of the government’s focus is currently on healing the deep wounds caused by the recent floods in the Punjab region.
For this reason, he noted, “there aren’t the necessary human and financial resources to implement reforms — including civic and social education that would foster respect for human dignity and religious freedom.”
Immediate response
Following the murder of Afzal Masih, the country’s government reacted by implementing countermeasures, yet, Batti insisted, they “will bear fruit only in time.”
“But the goal,” he reaffirmed, “remains a Pakistan where everyone can live without fear.”
