Assassin
The assassin Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri is from Punjab, and was part of the security detail provided to Taseer by the Elite Police. After the shooting, Qadri threw his weapon down and put his hands up when one of his colleagues aimed at him. He reportedly pleaded to be arrested. Qadri reportedly said he killed Taseer due to the latter's vocal opposition to the blasphemy law in Pakistan. Taseer was against the blasphemy law and termed it a black law. Notably, Taseer made headlines when he favoured the Christian Pakistani woman, Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. It was suspected that this was the main reason for his assassination. According to a report in Dawn, the assailant was associated with Dawat-e-Islami, a religious organisation associated with the Barelvi movement. After the murder, more than five-hundred clerics of the movement voiced support for the crime and urged a general boycott of Taseer's funeral. Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri blocked police attempting to bring him to the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi, and some supporters showered him with rose petals. On 1 October 2011, Qadri was sentenced to death by a Pakistani Anti Terrorist court at Islamabad for murdering Taseer.
Read more about this topic: Salmaan Taseer, Death