Toronto: International Christian Voice (ICV), Canada, celebrated the 14th anniversary of the martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti on May 09, 2025. The event paid tribute to Shahbaz and recognized his service to the religious minorities of Pakistan. Martyr Shahbaz Bhatti was a well-known Pakistani politician, elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2011 as the Minister for Minorities Affairs. Shahbaz was gunned down by terrorists on March 02, 2011, in Islamabad, allegedly for Blasphemy. 

To recognize his sacrifice, ICV organizes an annual fundraiser to sponsor a vulnerable refugee family to Canada.  The funds raised are used to pay all costs to settle the family in Canada for one year from the date of arrival.

Patrick Mendis and Crystal Asher were co-emcees of the event.  The evening commenced with prayers followed by the national anthem. Opening remarks were done by Dr. Colin Saldanha, who compared Shahbaz's  life to several biblical passages and that he walked in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. He also stressed that the community be united and continue his legacy. A video tribute 'Remembering Shabaz Bhatti' followed.

Peter Bhatti, Chairman of International Christian Voice, welcomed the guests and thanked all who contributed by giving their time, talent or financial contributions to make the event a success. During his remarks, Peter reminded everyone that although Shahbaz accomplished much for religious minorities, there was still more work to be done to bring about religious freedom in Pakistan.  Religious minorities continue to face hardship like forced conversion and marriages, confiscation of property, job and social inequality, due to the misuse of the blasphemy laws and other discriminatory laws.

Worthy Speakers who paid rich tribute to Martyr Shahbaz were:

The Honourable Graham McGregor, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.

The Hon. Ruby Sahota, Secretary of State, Combating Crime.

Hon. Garnett Genuis, Amarjit Gill MP    

Silvia Gualtieri MPP, Amarjot Sandhu, MPP

 The second segment was about the sponsorship of refugees. Noel Fernandis, Director of ICV, summarized details about ICV's involvement in sponsoring refugees to Canada, following IRCC guidelines. He also mentioned that between 2017 and to date, ICV had sponsored 234 individuals, all of whom are successfully settled or settling in Canada. Gulsher Murad, who was Shahbaz Bhatti's driver at the time of his murder, shared his testimony on how he escaped from Pakistan and how ICV helped to sponsor him to Canada. Pastor Nick Stavropoulos from the Rosewood Church of The Nazarene, Toronto, thanked ICV for sponsoring their refugee family.   

The guests were entertained by a raffle draw during which many beautiful gifts were won.  The Shallum Xavier Band entertained the guests after dinner.

Once again, ICV would like to thank all who supported the fundraiser, including the volunteers and sponsors who worked so hard to make the event a success.