Being a Pakistani and a Muslim, I feel very sad on the assassination of Mr Salmaan Taseer and the death of such an honourable, liberal, bold and courageous leader. His murder shows clearly that the conservative forces felt threatened by him. The personality of the late Mr Salmaan Taseer had always inspired the youth of Pakistan. And it will continue to do so in future as well. He was most popularly known for his openness, a quality that we should appreciate as most of the politicians in Pakistan are hypocrites. Only he and Imran Khan have this quality and frankly speaking, he had no parallel and no one can be a governor as he was. The one who killed him and those behind his murder must be put to death just to set an example and warn would-be murderers of the consequences.
Salmaan Taseer was a democratic man and he had fought hard to bring democracy in country and this was shown by his imprisonment in Lahore during Zia’s regime. This is a wake-up call for all the liberals in Pakistan to stop Islamist forces from gaining popularity in Pakistan and the guts to kill the most important late governor of Punjab. He was a great leader. If I had the power and authority, I would have written his name next to Nelson Mandelas for his democratic services. Salmaan Taseer, liberals and all Pakistanis will always remember you. Rest in peace!
HAIDER ALI
Lahore
