On January 4, 2011, Salmaan Taseer was assassinated in Islamabad by his security guard, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, who disagreed with Taseer’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Taseer had publicly defended a Christian woman who was accused of blasphemy against Islam. His bodyguard killed him for this.
Now, Qadri’s supporters want him released.
They say he’s a hero.
People rally for the release of Mumtaz Qadri, who allegedly gunned down Punjab’s governor Salman Taseer, holding a banner reading ‘release Mumtaz Qadri or arrest all of us,’ in Mansehra, Pakistan Friday, Jan. 7, 2011. Taseer was killed on Tuesday, allegedly by his bodyguard commando reportedly enraged by his opposition to laws decreeing death for insulting Islam. (AP/Aqeel Ahmed)
Malik Mohammad Bashir, the father of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the gunmen detained for the killing of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, is hoisted in the air by supporters of the religious party Shahbab Islami Pakistan as they rally at Qadri’s residence in Rawalpindi to show their support, January 7, 2011. (REUTERS/Mian Khurhseed)