ISLAMABAD – Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was gunned down by one of his bodyguards – a constable of Punjab Elite Force – here at Kohsar Market on Tuesday.
Salmaan Taseer, 56, was walking towards his house after having a lunch with his friend Waqas when one of his bodyguards, Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, rushed towards him and opened indiscriminate fire at him with the help of his SMG gun. Taseer received 27 bullets on various parts of his body and died on the spot. His body was first shifted to Polyclinic Hospital and later to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for autopsy. The post-mortem reports confirmed that 27 bullets penetrated his body. After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to TaseerÂ’s heirs.
The assassin Mumtaz Qadri confessed that he killed the Governor because the latter had called the blasphemy law a black law. He added that he was proud to have killed a blasphemer.
An intelligence official interrogating Mumtaz informed The Nation that two vehicles with eight elite force personnel, including two officials of special branch, were provided to Taseer for security by Rawalpindi Police on Monday morning.
The other members of TaseerÂ’s security team are in the custody of joint investigating team comprising officials of CID, CIA, Special Branch, Intelligence Bureau (IB). The joint investigation team is headed by Deputy Inspector General, Islamabad Police, Banni Ameen.
All the bodyguards of the Governor were also detained after the assassination.
It would be relevant to mention here that Taseer was one of the most moderate political figures in the ruling PPP. He wanted to bring amendments in the blasphemy law and that was the thing that caused his murder. His funeral prayer would be offered at the GovernorÂ’s House, Lahore, today (Wednesday) at 01:00 pm.
There was a stampede-like situation in the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH) of the capital as many activists of PPP, media persons and important government functionaries hurriedly gathered there soon after the spread of Punjab Governor Salman TaseerÂ’s murder news.
Scores in PPP workers started gathering inside and outside the Emergency Ward of the hospital and some of them were so emotional to have a glance of the body of Salmaan Taseer that they broke the back door of the emergency ward to enter into it.
Many important functionaries including the federal ministers of PPP, MNAs, politicians, human rights activists and many others frequently visited the hospital where the external post-mortem of the dead body of Salman Taseer was being conducted. Later, the dead body was shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for internal post-mortem.
Federal Law Minister Dr Babar Awan and MNA Farahnaz Isphani were the first among PPP leadership who reached the hospital. Ahmed Mukhtar, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Khurshid Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi, Sardar Nabeel Gabol, Najam-ud-Din Khan, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, Rana Farooq Ahmed and Makhdoom Shahab were among the federal ministers who reached policlinic.
When Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif reached the hospital, workers of the PPP became emotional and they started raising slogans against the PML-N-led Punjab government as well as leaders of the party. However, the ICT administration arranged complete security including personnel of capital police, Rangers and FC to avoid any untoward situation. Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Amer Ahmed Ali and Assistant Commissioner (Sadar) Capt. Farid Uddin remained present there to control the whole situation.
While talking to the media on the occasion, Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minister for Minorities, urged the government to include those into the probe of murder of Salman Taseer who had given decrees against him on the issue of blasphemy laws.
Staff Reporters add:  Following the sudden assassination of Salmaan Taseer, hundreds of outraged armed PPP and PSF activists took to streets and forced closure of shops, markets and shopping centres in several cities of Punjab on Tuesday. The protests erupted in Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and other cities.
In Sialkot, the charged mob staged big protest at Allama Iqbal Chowk where they burnt tyres and blocked traffic to vent their spleen against the incident.
The activists, reportedly, beaten up several shopkeepers and small traders upon their refusal to close their shops.