Salmaan Taseer’s killer hanged

Mumtaz Qadri’s body handed over to family for burial; protests staged countrywide

MULTAN/ FAISALABAD/ RAWALPINDI/ PESHAWAR/ ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI/ CHARSADDA:

Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, was hanged in Adiala Jail at dawn on Monday.

The planned execution was kept secret. And Qadri’s family was brought into the prison at 1.30am amid tight security for a last meeting, according to jail authorities. He was hanged three hours later in the presence of senior jail officials.

“Qadri was hanged around 4.30 am,” a senior police officer said. The body was handed over to the family an hour after the execution.

Qadri, a former police commando, assassinated Taseer in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011 for his support to a blasphemy accused. An Anti-Terrorism Court had sentenced him to death – a ruling also upheld by the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court.

A review petition of Qadri was also turned down by the top court on December 14 last year, and the last option of a mercy appeal to the president was also turned down.

As Qadri’s body reached his family house in Sadiqabad and news of his death spread, charged supporters along with activists of religious parties blocked the Murree Road and Islamabad Expressway at Faizabad Bridge.

Protesting against the execution, Qadri’s supporters stopped traffic from entering Islamabad and attacked many vehicles. A media van and its camera crew were also attacked by protesters.

A heavy contingent of police and the Rangers was deployed to Faizabad but law enforcers did not use force against the protesters. Security, though, was boosted outside Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar’s residence near Faizabad.

The government also shut down the Metro Bus in Rawalpindi. Charged protestors also chanted slogans against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and burnt his effigy.

His funeral prayers are expected to be offered at Liaquat Bagh in the afternoon today (Tuesday). He will be buried at the Atthal village in Bhara Kahu. The district administration has decided to suspend the Metro bus service. Public and private schools in the city will remain closed today as well.

Protests across the country

Protests also broke out in many parts of the country, including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Multan which caused massive traffic jams.

In Islamabad, turnout of employees, particularly in government offices, remained thin as most employees who live outside the city could not reach their workplaces due to roadblocks and shortage of public transport.

Owing to low turnout and tense situation, most schools, colleges and universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi shut down early in the day.

Lawyers from the Islamabad Bar Council, Islamabad High Court and Islamabad District Bar Associations on Monday observed black day and boycotted the court proceedings.

Karachi, the country’s financial hub, also remained disturbed as supporters and members of religious organisations staged protests throughout the day blocking traffic at multiple junctions.

Major markets along with some petrol pumps and schools were also shut. There were some instances where protesters pelted vehicles with stones and damaged property.

In Peshawar, religious parties took out protest rallies with GT Road and Khyber Road remained closed for traffic while other arteries suffered massive snarls.

A protest by Jamiat Ulema Pakistan workers choked traffic on the road opposite to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly. The Jamaat-e-Islami held a march from Eidgaah on Charsadda Road to Jinnah Park on GT Road. There JI Ameer Sirajul Haq led funeral prayers in absentia for Qadri.

In Lahore, thousands of protesters staged separate protests in different parts of the city, blocking traffic and burning tyres. Most educational institutions in the city remained open on Monday and are expected to remain open today.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2016.