The governor of Punjab, Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, was assassinated by one of his own guards on January 4, 2011. Taseer had spoken out against the nation’s blasphemy laws and was a supporter of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman imprisoned for blasphemy and facing the death sentence.
Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s most populous province, was gunned down by a member of his team of guards on January 4, 2011. His death comes three years after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Taseer was considered “one of [Bhutto’s] most prominent supporters.”
Taseer’s killer said he committed this murder as “punishment for a blasphemer.”
The governor had spoken out about Pakistan’s vaguely worded blasphemy laws, calling them harsh and unfair. “These laws are used to victimize Christians and other groups,” Taseer said.
He was one of only a few officials in Pakistan who defended Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Because of this support, “Taseer was threatened with fatwas demanding his death and fundamentalist parties mounted demonstrations against him.”
Taseer was not frightened by the protests and intimidation. “It was more important that he speak up for those who had long been suffering in silence.”
According to analysts, Taseer’s assassination has “plunged Pakistan into deeper instability…”
Taken from Praying through the Window
