Killers of slain Christian confess, arrested in Pakistan

Killers of slain Christian confess, arrested in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The killers of Pakistan’s first Christian to become a federal cabinet member, Shahbaz Bhatti, have confessed to the crime, Bhatti’s brother and security sources said.

Paul Bhatti, brother of the slain federal minister for minority affairs, told sources that security officials and a senior government minister said a suspect belonging to terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had confessed to murdering Shahbaz Bhatti over his efforts to amend Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and his support of Asia Noreen (also known as Asia Bibi), a Christian woman sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

The TTP is closely connected with Al Qaeda. The capture of three Islamic extremist suspects in connection with the assassination comes more than two and a half years after the March 2, 2011, murder in Islamabad.

With the assistance of intelligence agencies, the suspects were arrested from their hideout in Phulgran, a suburban area of Islamabad. The security officials also seized a car laden with explosives.