Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has welcomed the recent appointment of Shahbaz Bhatti as Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, and the decision to make him a member of the Cabinet.

CSW said it hoped his appointment was an indication of the intentions of the new Government in Pakistan to introduce significant reforms to improve human rights.

Shahbaz Bhatti is a prominent Christian human rights activist. As founder and President of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), he has been one of the most active campaigners for the repeal of the country’s blasphemy laws and equal rights for all religious minorities.

He was elected as a Member of the National Assembly earlier this year, and appointed to the Cabinet as Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs last month.

It is the first time the Minister for Minorities Affairs has been a Cabinet-level post.

David Drew, Labour MP for Stroud travelled to Pakistan with CSW in 2005 and met Bhatti.

He praised the Pakistani Government’s decision to appoint such a prominent activist to the Cabinet.

“I was deeply impressed by Shahbaz Bhatti’s courage, commitment and personal sacrifice in pursuit of the cause of human rights and justice for all the people of Pakistan, and by his extraordinary dedication to championing the rights of religious minorities who face severe discrimination and persecution," he said.

"His appointment by the President of Pakistan to this ministerial position, and the decision to promote the post to Cabinet-rank, is to be warmly welcomed.”

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: “We have known and worked with Shahbaz for many years, and we know him to be an outstanding individual, a person of immense courage and commitment. We warmly welcome his appointment and congratulate the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan on this decision.

"We hope that the whole Government of Pakistan will support Shahbaz in his new position, and that significant progress will be made towards the protection of equal rights for all the people of Pakistan, and the repeal of the widely-abused blasphemy laws which cause so much misery for so many.”