Taseer’s assassin: IHC rejects quashment plea

The petitioner argued that “Salmaan Taseer issued blasphemous comments which was why he was killed.”

ISLAMABAD: An appeal for cancelling the murder case on the self-proclaimed killer Malik Mumtaz Qadri was rejected by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday. The court dismissed the Intra Court Appeal (ICA), which was filed by advocate Zafar Awan.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice (IHC) Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan dismissed the appeal with the remarks that the ‘learned counsel for the appellant has not been able to substantiate any ground before them’, therefore the appeal was dismissed.

Zafar Awan advocate, who hails from Punjab, filed an ICA before the divisional bench on January 24, after a single member bench rejected his writ petition. Thereafter the appellant had filed an ICA before the divisional bench of IHC, which has also been dismissed.

The petitioner maintained in his writ petition that the FIR should be cancelled which was lodged against Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated Salmaan Taseer, at Koshar Police station. He argued, “Salmaan Taseer issued blasphemous comments which was why he was killed.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th,  2011.