International
Pakistan executes assassin of Punjab Governor
Mumtaz Qadri the assassin of Punjab Governor who sought a reformation of the country’s blasphemy laws has been hanged to death by authorities in Pakistan.
The accused who was feted as a hero by many supporters – was executed at a prison in Rawalpindi on Monday morning.
A prison official confirmed the execution of Qadri, who killed Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011.
Read also: Pakistan military foil terror groups’ jail break plot
“I can confirm that Qadri was hanged in Adialia jail early Monday morning,” senior local police official Sajjid Gondal told the AFP news agency.
Sources say dozens of rangers and police in riot gear as well as ambulances were stationed outside Qadri’s home in the city early Monday.
During his trial, Qadri’s counsel based his defence on the fact that Taseer opposed Pakistan’s so-called “blasphemy laws” by supporting Christian woman Asia Bibi, who was charged with allegedly desecrating Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
Qadri was later convicted and sentenced in late 2011. But he is viewed as a hero by many people who thought Taseer was a blasphemer.
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