Islamabad: Pakistani police on Wednesday charged
the policeman who assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
with murder and terrorism even as he appeared to be
unrepentant for his actions.
Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the Elite Force
personnel who gunned down Taseer in a market in Islamabad
yesterday, was booked under the Pakistan Penal Code and the
Anti-Terrorism Act.
Qadri was presented before Judicial Magistrate Malik
Naeem Shaukat, who granted transit custody to police for a
day. He will be produced in an anti-terrorism court in
Rawalpindi tomorrow, officials said.
The assassin was brought to the court complex in
Islamabad in an armoured vehicle amidst tight security.
The vehicle drove up almost to the entrance of the
courtroom and Qadri, his face covered by a black mask, was
taken inside by several policemen.
Despite the strict security arrangements, several
persons, including lawyers, went up to Qadri as he emerged
from the courtroom and congratulated him for his actions.
One person placed a garland of roses around Qadri`s
neck while another kissed him.
As policemen tried to push Qadri into the armoured
vehicle, he resisted and shouted: "We are ready to sacrifice
our life for the prestige of the Prophet Mohammed."
He also defiantly shouted "Allah-o-Akbar" several
times before policemen bundled him into the vehicle.
Earlier footage on television had shown a smiling
Qadri a few hours after the assassination, saying he had
killed the outspoken Governor for criticising the blasphemy
law. Qadri said the punishment for insulting the prophet was
death and that he was "proud" to have killed a blasphemer.
PTI
