Bhatti, a Christian, was vocal in his opposition to the blasphemy law which have been misused. The gunmen fired nearly 20 bullets after intercepting his car when he was passing by a market after coming out of his mother's house.
He was taken to hospital where he was declared dead. The cabinet minister was receiving death threats for the last couple of months. The killers threw Urdu pamphlets denouncing those who are critical to the blasphemy laws.
The pamphlet suggested that the Taliban were behind the grisly murder of the minister. Recently Punjab governor Salman Taseer was also assassinated as he was also critical of the harsh laws under which those guilty of disrespect towards Islam get death penalty.
TIH Bureau
