Late Salman Taseer with Iftikhar Ahmad in Jawab Deh 11 Jan 2009 Part 3

Salman Taseer, outspoken Pakistani governor assassinated; security guard arrested By Karin Brulliard Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, January 4, 2011; 9:54 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR20110104009... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR20110104009...

KARACHI, PAKISTAN - The governor of Pakistan's largest province was assassinated Tuesday at a genteel market in the nation's capital - allegedly by one of his own security guards, angered by the governor's support of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. Police said Salman Taseer- a sharp-tongued supporter of embattled President Asif Ali Zardari and an outspoken critic of religious extremists - was shot multiple times at the shopping plaza, which is near his home in Islamabad and is frequented by foreigners. A Pakistani news station quoted a witness who said he saw a security guard get out of Taseer's vehicle, raise a Kalishnikov rifle and fire through the window of the vehicle. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said one of the governor's guards surrendered to police after the shooting and told them he was angered by Taseer's recent public endorsement of a pardon for a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. That position had earned Taseer threats from Islamist parties, who held a strike last week against proposed changes to the nation's controversial anti-blasphemy laws. Taseer stood by his stance, posting on Dec. 30 on his Twitter account: "I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightest pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I'm the last man standing."

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News & Politics

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• Salman Taseer
• Governor Punjab
• Pakistan
• Extremist Islamic Parties
• ISI and MI
• Iftikhar Ahmad
• GEO TV
• Asif Ali Zardari
• Blasphemy Law
• Pakistan Army
• Taliban
• PPP
• Islamic Militancy