mr president when governor salmaan taseer was buried it seemed to me as though any hope for a moderate stable pakistan was buried with him
this disgusting murder of a dedicated and enlightened public servant was sparked by his advocacy of reforming pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws
in particular he championed the case of a christian woman who is currently awaiting execution would you believe it having been convicted of defaming islam
we in this parliament have long called for the reform or scrapping of these wretched blasphemy laws which are invoked frequently against pakistan's religious minorities
this assassination underlines the growing radicalisation of pakistani society
jinnah were he alive today would be shocked
few mainstream politicians dared to follow salmaan taseer's lead and suggest a reform of the blasphemy laws and even fewer will be able to do so now
they will be afraid
instead the violent radicals and fanatics including i am afraid leading jurists praised the assassin and called for his release
they seem to be winning the battle of ideas in pakistan
as a result domestic terrorism is flourishing and we saw this phenomenon again last week
can the eu now sustain a strategic relationship with a country so unstable and particularly given our generous concessions over trade and aid
