LAHORE – In its 20-minute long proceedings on Wednesday, the Punjab Assembly expressed grief and sorrow over the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and later adjourned the proceedings until Friday.
The Punjab Assembly session was chaired by acting Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan. Condemning the incident, Khan said it was a sad incident and all members of the House had their sympathies with the bereaved family.
PPP Senior Minister Raja Riaz said the killing of Salman Taseer was not a religious but a political murder. He said the PPP had a history of sacrifices and Taseer’s name had been added to the list of PPP martyrs. He said the Punjab governor’s services would always be remembered.
Riaz said the PPP would continue its journey for the betterment of the country and to strengthen democracy, adding that nothing can stop the PPP from moving forward.
He said Taseer was a brave and bold politician and an asset to the party.
Riaz said the government should probe the matter and bring the culprits to book.
PML-Q legislator Dr Samia Amjad expressed grief on behalf of her party and strongly condemned the incident.
Punjab Finance Minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira said he was at a loss of words.
He said Taseer’s assassination had deprived the party of a brave and courageous leader.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah strongly condemned the incident and expressed grief on behalf of his party leadership. He also informed the House that the PML-N leadership and cabinet members were interested to attend the funeral of Taseer.
However, Raja Riaz advised the PML-N leaders not to attend the funeral, saying PPP workers were in a state of shock and the situation might lead to some bitterness.
Talking to reporters later outside the Punjab Assembly, Sanaullah said the Punjab chief minister had formed a special team headed by Nasir Durrani to investigate the murder. He said as the incident took place in Islamabad, the judicial inquiry to probe the matter should also be conducted by Islamabad High Court.
The law minister said the Punjab government had written a letter to the interior secretary offering full cooperation to the joint investigation team that was already probing the killing of Salman Taseer.
He said appointing the new governor was at the discretion of the president.
To a question about initial investigations, Sanaullah said it would be too early to comment on the situation, but primary interrogations had showed that the killer had no connection with any militant or banned organisation.
