Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for minorities, had declared he was prepared to die for his convictions after Salman Taseer, governor of the country's Punjab province, was killed Jan. 5 by a bodyguard who said he was angry that the politician opposed Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Bhatti was on his way to work in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, when unidentified gunmen sprayed his car with bullets, according to news reports. A radical Islamic group associated with the Taliban terrorist movement reportedly claimed responsibility for the assassination in a note left at the scene. ...