ROME - 7th April 2011
By monitoring
Paul Bhatti, brother of the former minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti who was murdered by Islamic armed men, said he and his family forgive his brother’s assassins.Shahbaz Bhatti was killed March 2.

Speaking to reporters in Rome, Paul Bhatti said his family has forgiven Shahbaz’s assassins, “because our faith teaches us to do this. Our brother Shahbaz was a Christian and the Christian faith tells us to forgive.”

The brother participated in a conference sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Rome-based Catholic lay organization active in international affairs.

The conference was designed as a memorial to Shahbaz Bhatti and as a way to encourage the continuation of his mission of promoting inter-religious dialogue in Pakistan.

The assassinated minister’s brother told the conference, “To obtain peace in the world we must all walk together … (peace) is a universal responsibility.”

While he said he and his family have forgiven the assassins, he said there was a need to clarify what happened and find the perpetrators to prevent a similar crime from happening in the future.

“The person who killed him did not extinguish his light because we will continue his battle with strength and determination,” he said.