Pakistan governor assassinated for opposition to blasphemy laws
Pakistan governor assassinated over blasphemy laws campaign
By Rob Crilly, Islamabad 4:19PM GMT 04 Jan 2011
One of Pakistan’s most outspoken politicians was shot dead in Islamabad on Tuesday by one of his own guards in a killing that police are linking to his controversial campaign to reform the country’s blasphemy laws.
Witnesses said Salman Taseer, 56, the governor of Punjab province, was killed by a gunman in a police uniform at a small market close to his home in the capital.
Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, Assassin
His death is the most high-profile political assassination since the murder of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, in December 2007.
Last night the government appealed for calm as members of Taseer’s Pakistan People’s Party staged demonstrations in the Punjab city of Multan.
The country’s government is already on the brink of collapse, following the defection of a key coalition ally, and further unrest would deepen the sense of political crisis.
Eyewitnesses said Taseer was a familiar figure at Kohsar Market, an arcade popular with expat aid workers, diplomats and journalists.
Update:
With killing of governor Salman Taseer, Pakistan’s government in turmoil
Punjab governor Salman Taseer, outspoken foe of religious extremism, is shot and killed by a member of an elite security team, officials say. The gunman killed Taseer because of his opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, police say.
[…]
Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, said Taseer’s killer had confessed to killing the governor because of his opposition to Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, which have been denounced by international human-rights groups. The laws have been under particular scrutiny of late after a Pakistani Christian woman was condemned to death for allegedly defaming Islam.
The ruling People’s Party, which in recent days has been struggling to cope with the defection of a major coalition partner and keep the government afloat, was plunged into mourning. Many of its senior members likened Taseer — a popular and charismatic figure who commanded a large following on Twitter — to the assassinated Bhutto, who also ran afoul of religious extremists.
Malik said it was not known whether the killer acted on his own or in concert with others. The blasphemy policy — which Taseer had called a “black law” — is strongly supported by Islamist parties. Taseer was the target of angry protests by Islamists after he called for the pardon of the condemned woman.
[…]
Links:
Salmaan Taseer’s Twitter Account
Salmaan Taseer - Governor of the Punjab (Official Website)
Salmaan Taseer (1944-2011)