New York: March 9, 2011. (PCP) International Community Care Foundation (ICCF) strongly condemns the fanatic forces, the cold-blooded, cowardly and brutal assassination of Pakistan's Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. ICCF extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Minister Shahbaz Bahtti. His death is a loss to the people of Pakistan and all those who shared his commitment to the promotion of tolerance and religious freedoms in that country. March 2, is the second killing this year of a senior government official who had spoken out against the country's stringent anti-blasphemy laws. The courageous battle he had vowed to fight against the country's draconian blasphemy law had already been abandoned by the government in the wake of Punjab governor Salman Taseer's murder. Mr. James Fazl, Chairman ICCF and Mr. Tariq Javed, Ececutive Director of ICCF, have paid tribute to the daring services of Pakistan's Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, (the sole minister in the Muslim Majority Cabinet), for raising a voice for the minorities favoring amendment in Blasphemy Law, wielded primarily against minorities and often used to settle personal scores- many a time, local people take the law into their own hands and lynch individuals accused of blasphemous acts. Pakistan's Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti's assassination was a ruthless act indeed, and that it would create chasm between the liberal and fanatic forces. This assassination indicates the involvement of retrogressive forces in Pakistan that have over the past couple of decades made inroads into all sections of society and institutions of the state, including those institutions upon which Pakistani citizens rely for their security. The ICCF leaders have expressed concerns for the safety of Christians, the democratic and progressive voices struggling for the well being of the common Pakistanis and fervently express our solidarity with them. The board of ICCF-USA sincerely requests the International Community to join us in urging the Pakistan Government to act swiftly and strongly to ensure safety of the people in Pakistan by taking a courageous stand and introducing an amendment to the law in the national Assembly in order to curb rising religious extremism and forces promoting hatred and violence.