Pakistani media portray death of Catholic politician as result of family feud
August 09, 2011
The media in Pakistan are trying to explain the murder of a leading Catholic politician as the result of a family quarrel rather than a political assassination, according to a lawyer who is tracking the case.
Tahir Naveed, who is monitoring the investigation into the death of Shahbaz Bhatti, reports that media outlets are portraying the death of Pakistan’s former religious-affairs minister as the product of a personal dispute. That explanation is inadequate, Naveed says, because “Shahbaz had no personal enemies.”
Bhatti was killed after he voiced opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, and the assassination took place after the Catholic politician had received multiple death threats. Naveed is convinced that the killing was the work of Islamic zealots. But the media are reluctant to acknowledge that reality. “Let us hope that the truth will come out,” the lawyer says.
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