Pakistan Province Governor Shot Dead
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The governor of Punjab province in Pakistan was shot and killed by one of his police guards in a wealthy neighborhood in Islamabad on Tuesday, government officials said.
The governor, Salman Taseer, was fired on at close range as he was getting into his car in the Kohsar Market, in an area frequently visited by the city’s elite and by foreigners. The interior minister, Rahman Malik, confirmed that a police guard was the shooter. Local media reports said, citing hospital officials, that Mr. Taseer was struck by nine bullets.
The assassination in broad daylight sent shockwaves through a country already beset with a political crisis after a major ally of the government quite the cabinet on Sunday.
Mr. Taseer was a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari and was known for his progressive views. He had recently been embroiled in controversy over his stance opposing the country’s blasphemy laws. Religious parties strongly resist any changes in the laws.
Effigies of Mr. Taseer were burnt in countrywide protests last week.