Islamabad (AsiaNews) - The Christian leaders of Pakistan are concerned about the future in a special way following the death of the popular leader Benazir Bhutto, who was respected and considered as the best choice in the country's political landscape, which has a large Muslim majority. According to various Christians, in fact, Bhutto's sad end "has diminished the hopes for democracy, religious freedom, and equality".
In the view of Lawrence John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore and president of the Pakistan bishops' conference, "it is now necessary that a correct and speedy investigation be carried out, in order to guarantee justice: in the meantime, the entire country must work for peace and harmony".
For Fr Bonnie Mendes, a human rights activist, what has died is "a symbol of democracy", and when this happens "the poor people suffer more. The hopes of Christians for a better future in Pakistan are in free fall, and during the many prayer services for Bhutto in which I participated, I saw people who were truly grieving".
The outlook is "even more dismal if one considers that this time Bhutto did not behave as in the past, when she committed serious errors in regard to minorities. She had returned with a new vision, and had become a real source of hope". This is exactly the opposite, the priest continues, "of what Musharraf is doing, who has allowed the presence of the Taliban in the country and has permitted extremism and intolerance to increase. The declarations of the president, according to which he had granted us joint electorate [editor's note: unlike what has happened until now, with lists reserved for minorities] are not true: we forced him to grant this, through protests and campaigns".
Joseph Francis, president of Pakistan's national Christian party, says "we were hopeful that Ms Bhutto would do something positive for Christians in Pakistan. After [her] death, all the hopes has been dimmed. Now we have to do something ourselves".
Peter Jacob, secretary of the national Justice and Peace commission, takes up the argument: "It is a very extraordinary situation in the country these days, and no one can predict the country’s future as well as of Christians precisely at the moment . . . They are creating crisis after crisis, and this is a very dangerous game".
In the meantime, in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections - which are supposed to take place at the beginning of February - the Christian candidates "really need to do their homework", Jacob says. "It may be a long struggle, but they have to do it to become active participants in mainstream politics".
