Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Pamela Constable Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Mumtaz Qadri, 26, pleaded guilty in a Pakistani court Monday to murdering the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, because of the governor's outspoken opposition to Pakistan's harsh blasphemy law, which makes it a capital crime to criticize the prophet Muhammad.
Qadri, a policeman who was assigned to protect Taseer, shot him 26 times Jan. 4, apparently in response to the governor's public comments on blasphemy. Police officials and Qadri's lawyer said he told the judge in Rawalpindi that he had acted alone and was not influenced by any religious group. The hearing was held one day early to prevent his fans from mobbing the court.
But Qadri's act, while condemned by some members of Pakistan's small moderate elite, has quickly united and emboldened a broad spectrum of Islamic groups across the country. It has exposed both the sharp schisms here and the weakness of Pakistan's political leaders to counter the growing popularity of radical Islam.
The fallout from the murder, which came amid the near-collapse of the country's ruling coalition, has also raised new questions about the viability of Pakistan's democratic order at a time when Washington has embraced the government as a critical partner in the fight against the Taliban.
"Mumtaz Qadri sacrificed himself to protect the sanctity of our prophet, and every one of us here is ready to do the same thing," said Abdul Majid, a seminary student who was among tens of thousands of supporters who rallied in this huge port city Sunday, demanding that the country's controversial blasphemy law be preserved.
Many people at the march were Islamic activists and seminary students who hoisted posters of Qadri and carried flags of religious parties, including two banned Sunni militant groups. The rally was peaceful, but hundreds of participants shouted provocative and emotional chants, including "Life to Mumtaz Qadri, death to Salman Taseer, death to all blasphemers."
The slaying of Taseer, 66, a liberal politician who had condemned the blasphemy law and the death sentence against a Christian peasant woman accused of insulting the prophet, has shaken the nation.
http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/01/dtn-news-pakistan-today-january-11-2011.html
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