Shahbaz Bhatti

Servant of God
Shahbaz Bhatti
شہباز بھٹی
Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs
In office
2 November 2008 – 2 March 2011
PresidentAsif Ali Zardari
Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded byMuhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
Succeeded byPaul Bhatti
Personal details
Born(1968-09-09)September 9, 1968
Lahore, Pakistan
Died2 March 2011(2011-03-02) (aged 42)
Islamabad, Pakistan
Political partyPakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Alma materUniversity of the Punjab

Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 1968 – 2 March 2011) was a Pakistani politician and the first Christian Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs.[1] He was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2008 for the Pakistan People's Party.[2] Bhatti became the only Christian member of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's Cabinet on November 2.[3][4] On 2 March 2011, Bhatti was assassinated outside his mother's home by members of the Pakistani Taliban for his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy laws.[5] In March 2016, his cause for beatification was formally opened by the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. He was given the honorary title Servant of God within the Catholic Church.[6][7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference dawn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Pakistani minister, a Christian, assassinated". Albuquerque Express. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic, is the new minister for the defense of minorities". PIME AsiaNews. 4 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Alex (3 March 2011). "Pakistan's only Christian Cabinet member assassinated". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  5. ^ "USCIRF Marks 10th Anniversary of Shahbaz Bhatti Assassination". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  6. ^ "2011". Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Pope Francis praises witness of Pakistani Catholic, 'servant of God' killed in 2011". The Catholic Register. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.