Brussels, March 4 (SIGNIS) - SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, today supported Church and civil society leaders calling for the Pakistan government to take concrete measures to curb extremism and uphold the religious freedom of minorities.

The President of SIGNIS, Augustine Loothusamy said: "We condemn the terrible murder of the minister for minorities, Mr Bhatti. We fully support the stand taken by Archbishop Saldanha and other leaders in calling for the Pakistan government to renew efforts to ‘take practical steps to curb extremism' and safeguard the religious rights of all communities.

We join with our colleagues in SIGNIS Asia in urging our members, partners and friends to use this time for prayer, reconciliation and mutual respect between religions.

We pray that out of this tragedy will come a renewed commitment to sustain a peaceful and democratic Pakistan in which the human rights of all are recognized and protected.

As SIGNIS we renew our commitment to building a culture of peace, using the media to build bridges of understanding between all communities.”