Condolence meeting & memorial service in memory of Late Shahbaz Bhatti‏

Violence in the name of religion is on the continuous rise in Pakistan. Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minority affairs and the only Christian in Pakistan's cabinet, was gunned down in Islamabad on 2nd March, 2011,  more or less just two months after the brutal assassination of Punjab's governor Salman Taseer. Immediately after the Pakistani Taliban claimed the responsibility of Bhattí''s killing and justified it on the grounds of the minister suggesting changes in Pakistan's infamous blasphemy laws.

Fraser Valley Peace Council in association with the Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians and the Indo-Canadian Workers Association is holding a condolence meeting and memorial service in sad remembrance of  Shahbaz Bhatti. Please join us to express solidarity with voices of tolerance and reason in Pakistan.

 
The program details are as under

'Silence is not an option, Silence means more Deaths...'

Condolence meeting and memorial service                                  

In remembrance of Shahbaz Bhatti,  

Slain Pakistani Christian leader, Pakistan's Federal minister for minority affairs

Chief Guest:         Shuja Alam, Consulate General of Pakistan.
Guest Speaker:   Ujjal Dosanjh, MP
Speakers:             
Gurpreet Singh (Director News, Radio India Ltd)
Dr. Saif Khalid (Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians)
Surrinder Sangha (Indo Canadian Workers Association)   
When:   Sunday, 3rd April, 2011 (1.30 pm sharp)  
Where:  Newton Library, 13795 70 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 0E1


We the organizers strongly believe that the silence is not the option and time has come that the individuals and groups who believe in peace, freedom and human dignity should stand up and make their voices heard against the hard-liner, extremist and violent minority within Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.

In Solidarity and peace,  

Members and supporters of
Fraser Valley Peace Council

Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (Vancouver Chapter) 
Indo-Canadian Workers Association

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Repeal the Blasphemy Laws! Candlelight Vigil, Vancouver March 15/11

Protect Human Rights of Minorities in Pakistan!
Repeal the Blasphemy Laws!
Candlelight Vigil to Commemorate the Lives of all Victims of Blasphemy Laws
March 15th, 6pm
Outside the Pakistani Consulate, 510 W. Hastings Street
(corner of W. Hastings and Richards, across from SFU Harbour Centre)
As you may know, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti was recently assassinated for speaking out against the Blasphemy Laws and the resulting ongoing persecution of religious minorities. This was preceded by the assassination of the Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer who had taken up the cause of Aasia Bibi, a poor Christian labourer who is currently imprisoned awaiting death by hanging under the Blasphemy Laws. Countless other Pakistanis continue to be persecuted because of these heinous legal relics of the Zia dictatorship in conjunction with a dangerous and unconscionable appropriation of Islam, deliberately distorted for the sole purpose of political or economic gain.
We believe that it is the Blasphemy Laws themselves and the resulting persecution and violence that are un-Islamic and contrary to both the tenets of Islam and the founding principles of the nation. We stand in solidarity with the struggles taking place in Pakistan to ensure equality for ALL Pakistanis and feel that we must speak out strongly where other voices are being threatened into silence through harassment and direct death calls.
Through this vigil, we want to begin building alliances with sister organizations and supportive individuals for effective lobbying to put pressure on the Government of Pakistan, the Chief of the Army Staff, and the leaders of all political parties to repeal the Blasphemy Laws, and to abolish religious extremism and vigilantism. We believe, the Blasphemy Laws must be repealed in order to protect Muslim and non-Muslim lives, minority rights, freedom of speech and democracy.
Please stand with us. This issue requires your urgent support.
Protect Human Rights of Minorities in Pakistan!
Repeal the Blasphemy Laws!
Candlelight Vigil to Commemorate the Lives of all Victims of Blasphemy Laws
March 15th, 6pm
Outside the Pakistani Consulate, 510 W. Hastings Street
(corner of W. Hastings and Richards, across from SFU Harbour Centre)
Please join us in a candlelight vigil to
- Protest the persecution of all minorities within Pakistan
- Push for the repeal of the blasphemy laws and all laws that discriminate against all minorities
- Honour all lives lost to extremist violence including the recent assassinations of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti
- Support the release of Aasia Bibi and all those now being victimized by discriminatory laws
For more info
repealthelaws@gmail.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150985018294095
Organized by
Ad Hoc Group For the Repeal of Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan
Vancouver, BC
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