Salman Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri hanged at Adiala Jail
RAWALPINDI: Mumtaz Qadri, an Elite Force commando convicted of killing former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, was executed at the Adiala Jail on Monday at around 4.30am.
Mumtaz Qadri, who was the bodyguard of Salman Tasser, shot him dead in broad daylight in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011 for what he claimed for his vocal opposition to blasphemy laws. He was sentenced to death for the murder on Oct 1 the same year.
His mercy appeal was rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain. His family visited him for the last time on Sunday night. His body was later handed over to his heirs.
Strict security measures were adopted in the city. All the roads leading to the jail were sealed. The Red Zone in Islamabad was also sealed. Police and Rangers were deployed in large numbers.
People protesting Qadri’s hanging gather on the Islamabad Expressway and closed it at Faizabad Interchange. They also pelted stones at vehicles. Metro Bus service in Lahore was suspended.
Rangers and police in riot gear as well as ambulances and dozens of police vehicles were stationed outside Qadri s home in Rawalpindi early Monday.
Qadri had shot Taseer 28 times and later admitted the killing, saying he objected to the politician’s calls to reform blasphemy laws.
Qadri lost a petition for the Supreme Court to review his sentence in December last year.
