The assassin of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, on Saturday pleaded guilty to an Anti Terrorism Court (ATC), saying that he had killed Taseer for blaspheming, while following edicts from Quran and Sunnah.
During the hearing of the case, held at Adiyala Jail, Qadri recorded his written statement before with the ATC judge, Syed Pervez Ali Shah, and admitted to having killed Taseer, and stated the reasons behind the atrocious act. Raja Shuja, the counsel for Mumtaz Qadri, told reporters that his client had submitted the written statement under Section 265-F (5) of the CRPC in which, the killer referred to 11 Quranic verses, 28 quotes from Sunnah, four decisions of the Caliphs, and the views of Hanafi, Shafai, Maliki, Hanbali, Jafri and several other eminent Muslims jurists with a reference to Islamic jurisprudence.
He claimed that under these references, Salmaan Taseer had committed blasphemy, adding that every person was liable to death, who committed blasphemy or supported a blasphemer or doubted that the punishment of blasphemer was unjustified or practically tried to abolish sentence for commission of blasphemy. Furthermore, Taseer was a murtad (apostate) for marrying a Sikh woman, Qadri claimed in his statement.
He said no objection was raised from the prosecution on the statement, and therefore, the court validly admitted it and made it a part of record. Answering a query, Shuja said the personal conduct of a national leader, desiring to lead the people, was a public property and every citizen of Pakistan had a right to question his demeanour. “In this trial, the right has been exercised by Qadri,” he added.
The court adjourned the hearing till September 24.
Salmaan Taseer’s killer pleads guilty
