KARACHI/ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and directed Interior Affairs Minister Rehman Malik to personally supervise the investigation.
The president was informed about the tragic incident during a meeting with the Sindh lawmakers at the Bilawal House. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah will proceed to Lahore to participate in the funeral on behalf of the president.
President Zardari said that no words were strong enough to condemn it, and ordered all perpetrators of this crime must be punished. Paying tributes to the late governor, he said that Salmaan Taseer was endowed with great courage and energy who employed these qualities in the service of the province and the country.
Prime Minister Gilani announced a three-day national mourning period over the assassination of the governor. He appealed to PPP workers for calm after the tragic assassination to allow a proper investigation. “The prime minister has ordered for a high-level inquiry into the incident, and said culprits would be brought to justice,” the PM Housed said.
ONE MORE MARTYRDOM – The Pakistan People’s Party announced that the party would observe two weeks of mourning over the assassination of the seasoned politician. “PPP Co-Chairman (President Zardari) has announced that all party events are cancelled and for the next two weeks, the party will observe mourning,” MNA Fauzia Wahab told reporters.
She said that the party has rendered so many martyrdoms and there was one more in the shape of Salmaan Taseer. “The void left by Salmaan Taseer, a true party loyalist, honest and committed person, will be difficult to fill,” she said.
