Pakistan is on high alert as hundreds of Islamists on Tuesday gathered for the funeral of Punjab governor Salman Taseer's assassin Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed for killing the liberal leader over seeking reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws.
Security forces were deployed at main junctions and sensitive buildings in Islamabad and the nearby Rawalpindi city, where Qadri's funeral procession will pass through. "Police is on high alert and special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident. Nobody will be allowed to create any kind of disturbance," an official of the Interior Ministry said.
Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in 2011 in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad, was hanged in Adialia jail of Rawalpindi city on Monday, triggering protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day".
Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets.
After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, a Karachi-based group with countrywide following, has announced to organise a funeral prayer for Qadri at historic Liaquat Bagh ground of Rawalpindi.
Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed. Radical religious groups had been demanding that Qadri should be forgiven as he killed a "blasphemer".
Taseer, who died aged 66, had come out it in support of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy and termed the regulations as "black laws" drawing the ire of extremists. Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri has condemned the hanging, saying, "It is black day in the history of the country. Those who executed Qadri have only spoiled their chances of success hereafter."
Meanwhile, a leading cleric and chief of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Mualana Muhammad Khan Sherani endorsed the hanging of Qadri who he said had taken the laws into his hands. "No one is above the law," he told journalists on Monday. "I respect Qadri's religious sentiments but I respect Pakistan's constitution more," he said.
Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under them.
