RAWALPINDI:
In their concluding remarks on Saturday, lawyers representing Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, tried to justify the high-profile assassination by saying the governor’s conduct was “unbecoming of a Muslim”.
Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court-II Pervez Ali Shah put off the hearing in the case until October 1 after the lawyers representing Qadri said that if their client had not killed Taseer, someone else would have.
Special Public Prosecutor in the case, Saiful Malook, was absent from court on Saturday, though he is likely to make the prosecuting case on the next date of hearing.
Talking to the media after attending the hearing in Adiala Jail, Advocate Raja Shujaur Rehman, representing the accused, said they had argued before the court that the action of Qadri was as instantaneous as the statements of a public figure like the Punjab governor had been provocative. He added that Taseer’s conduct was against the sentiments of the common man.
The lawyer said the accused himself had tried to justify his act by presenting different passages of the Quran and Islamic teachings against blasphemy.
The governor’s statements against blasphemy laws, Rehman said, were also against the laws of the country but state machinery did not take any legal action against him.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2011.
COMMENTS (40)
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Shame on the defense lawyers.
Sad that the killer is unrepentant. Geo TV showed a program on the second day after Shaheed Taseer was massacred about how Qadri and the other guards had practiced the killing a day before. This is not a whim murder. This is planned assassination of a man who stood for human rights in a country where such struggles are shunned.
Hope they hang Qadri publicly. Hope the state has the courage to disallow muslim burial to this Murtid.
R.I.P Salmaan Taseer.
For all those who are crying for 'Law' ... for them, there is no 'Law', there is only 'Justice' and which has been served by Qadri (and by God indirectly)
People People under the law Qadri is entitled to eb defended by a lawyer. Alsio under the law the lawyer must defend his client to the best of his abilities. He's just doing what a defence lawyer should do. You should all realize that if Qadri were to make a case that his defence was inadequate or biased against him whatever sentence he recieves could be declared null and void and Qadri would walk free.
@John B: Vigilantism (perceived or otherwise) would undermine any legal system; including any manifestation of the Sharia. Think about it.
Qadri is an insult to mankind and must be removed from the society for life. Nobody whould hear his sermon in any way shape or form. He must be silenced like OBL has been forever.
Qadri is representative of the fanaticism and hatred that plagues Pakistan. He must be convicted, executed, and all of his kind must be told that if you go from "speaking" to "doing" awful things, you will be executed immediately and without punity.
if this guy walk then everyone shall have the right to go out gun blazing, killing to justify their own opinions and values
This is the reason why State and Religion should be separated because Qadri is defending himself by falling back on the Pakistani flawed constitution which is based upon a specific religion. This is downright ignorance
@Roflcopter @P N Eswaran Its because of people like you that this country will never progress!! I fail to understand where your mind set comes from. Also maybe you should actually open the Qur'an yourself, read it( the translation) and most importantly UNDERSTAND it.
He is being tried under common law, so his defense looks idiotic.
What if he is tried under sharia law?
P.S. ET keeps censoring my comment on this question. Let's see if this gets posted.
society is hijacked by extremists. Other day i was discussing this case and what i observed here in Khi that most middle class people consider Qadri a hero. they support blasphemy law to the hilt even when its misuse has become common. its so sad that not only illiterates but supposed literates support this barbaric law. for every salman rushdie, who deserves to die there are numerous cases where this law was misused. I pray to God people are enlightened enough to stop calling Qadri a hero.
The rangers who shot dead that robber was sentenced to death with in a month time
Why not any decisive action taken in this case yet ?
His lawyer is nuts! Like his colleagues who showered rose petals on this insane murdurer!
@MUNIB: Yeas you are right my lord.
"He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone!" Qadri has no right to decide who is and isn't a good Muslim. And its time that all the jaahils in Pakistan realised that. I realise that everyone deserves a fair trial and his or her day in court..however in this case i think an exception should have been made!
@Chhankya @P N Eswaran
To you who believe Qadri shouldn't be punished, Please wake up! How did Taseer commit blasphemy? He merely said that the blasphemy law was being misused and should be repealed as it has become an excuse to persecute minorities. Pray tell me, how is this blasphemy? Blasphemy is when someone insults God. That's NOT what Mr. Taseer did. I know that he was no saint, but that does not give anyone the right to kill him. Islam does not support blasphemy-killings, just look at the conduct of the Prophet (PBUH). He always practised forgiveness in the face of blasphemy and persecution such as at Ta'if when he prayed for the people who abused him, and when the visited the woman who used to through garbage on him when she was unwell in Mecca, and when he even forgave Hind, the wife of abu sufyan. If anyone should be hanged, drawn and quartered for blasphemy it is Qadri because he is the one blaspheming by saying that his actions are religious sanctioned.
Everyone amongst us has to pay some price of so-called ideology of Pakistan. Salman Taseer and many others has already paid. Remaining will pay soon.
@Roflcopter: if he had killed your dad because your dad did not believe in his version of islam would you still be asking to free him?
Who is Qadri to decide if the Salmaan Taseer was a muslim or not. Only Allah knows what is in our hearts. He killed an innocent, unarmed Muslim and should be punished for what he did.
Salman Taseer criticized the blasphemy law and its implementation. He said the law was not framed correctly. Thats not blasphemy.
Should we keep our mouths shut in Pakistan? Our constitution gives us the freedom to express our views freely. If i say the blasphemy law is immoral and should be repealed, does this mean someone should come and kill me?
The defence hasnt put anything forward to defend qadri other than claiming he deserved to be killed and someone would have killed him anyways. There is no case to defend here
According to Islam blasphemy is punishable with death. If a case had been filed against Salman Taseer he would have been punished with death penalty. However, Imagine how the image of Pakistan would have taken a beating if the court had sentenced Salman with death penalty. Qadri jumped the 'Q' and punished the governor and saved the nation of embarrassment. Few in Pakistan are outraged and spew at Qadri. He is an innocent outcome of the ideology on which Pakistan is founded.
hmm so i f we can openly kill all those who we feels conduct is unbecoming....then we would have hardly anyone left in pakistan This lawyer is a fool and if he believes in his case he should retire......he has no understanding of law
From a legal or religious point of view this is an open and shut case. Obviously someone is scared (possibly rightly so) to bell the cat.
I'm not surprised as this same strategy has been used numerous times to justify murders of members belonging to the Ahmedi community with high success rate.
I sincerely hope the common sense and justice will prevail in this particular case.
O.M.G. is this even real? who on earth would represent qadri?
Poor law and force, sick people... Can't expect anything good in that situation. What a amazing lawyer. I wish, if victim was someone to lawyer family, then he'd never dare to say this.
Dear Munib and Sehr, Although, an assassin should be punished as is enshrined in the law, nevertheless, Qadri represents an ideological culture that has permeated into blood of our society. law of land must take its course, but ideology of hatred, intolerance, self-righteousness and extremism could only be defeated by an equally forceful or even more dynamic ideology. Lesson for beginners is to inculcate into minds of culture of tolerance and then create an environment which encroaches upon extremism. All-embracing and recreated politics of left could fill the vacuum which has increased immensely under the pressure of economics and international politics. Specter of proletarian dictatorship has already been put to deep sleep. In fact, new innovations of science and technology are creating an environment of inclusive growth and relative justice. We have to cash in on. No other option or volume of anger and rage will be helpful.
Logic of killers support killing of any person in the name of Islam, specially by Talebans fanatics as they think others are abusing Islam. So Naeemi sahib killed in Lahore, blast at Data sahib, Bari Imam and Adbdullah Shah Ghazi are justified? Astaghfirullah. Similarly people killing in Sialkot and other areas of their enemies in the name of GHAIRAT will be justified.
Killer is a killer. Was Qadri a stupid and idoit or Mufti Azam Pakistan? I am not supporting Salman Taseer for his those remarks which are described by Qadri (Allah knows better), but NO WAY any one is authorized to kill except through prosecution and homeland law.
I feel pitty on Qadri's supporter just as Taleban's and their supporter for their lack of Islamism and rationalism,
Even if Taseer did something against the law (since the blasphemy law is written in Pakistan's constitution), he should have been tried for it in court as per the law and then penalized. Unloading two magazines of a machine gun into someone you're paid to protect at point blank range on a whim is no justice, it's beastliness. Even Islamic law has to be administered through an official court system, not by self-righteous emotionally-charged (and potentially deranged) individuals. And these so-called lawyers should be ashamed of themselves.
Free Qadri!
Pathetic and idiotic defense. This is an open and shut case. Qadri should be liable for murder no matter what his religious convictions.
Do not understand whats so complicated about this case. Cannot believe there are lawyers who are actually defending Qadri. Its a black and white case. Qadri and others like him should be hanged! His sentence should be as spontaneous as him killing Taseer!
I had always be critical of Salman Taseer but the way he was murdered by a fanatic, its an insult to the sum-total "humanity" of this nation and terrorists like Mumtaz Qadri should be hanged publicly and all those TALIBAN mindset people in security org should be screened out if any bigger incident is to be avoided in future.