RAWALPINDI, February 29: Mumtaz Qadri, a former Elite Force commando convicted for killing Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was executed at the Adiala Jail early Monday morning.
Security was stepped up at flashpoints across the country including the garrison city of Rawalpindi due to possible agitation. Qadri killed Taseer in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011 for speaking out against misuse of blasphemy laws.
An Anti-Terrorism Court had convicted
and condemned Qadri to death, a ruling also upheld by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Supreme Court (SC).
A review petition of Qadri was also turned down by the top court on December 14 last year, leaving him with the last option of filing a clemency appeal to the President. It was also rejected.
According to reports, Qadri’s body was sent to his native town Sadiqabad near Rawalpindi where his funeral prayers will be offered on Tuesday.
Following Qadri’s execution, authorities put police and Rangers on ‘high alert’, stepped up security and braced for protests. The protest demonstrations were reported in different cities, including Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Reports said protestors gathered on main road, Faizabad Interchange, outside Rawalpindi, burning tyres on the thoroughfare and chanting slogans against government. In the wake of any untoward situation, authorities closed schools in Rawalpindi. In Karachi, some petrol stations were also closed. A police spokesman said security forces were on high alert and extra police were being deployed to clear the roads. -DNA
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