'Salman Taseer's killer told colleagues about murder plan'

The Pakistani policeman, who gunned down Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, was removed from the special branch for being a "security risk" and had told several of his colleagues of his plan to kill the senior PPP leader for opposing the controversial blasphemy law, according to the media here.

Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, 26, who laid down his weapon and surrendered moments after he shot and killed Taseer at the Kohsar Market here yesterday, had also been part of Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's security detail on at least one occasion, the local media reported.

Qardi, who was shown smiling in photographs and video footage after the assassination, had told several of his colleagues in Punjab Police's Elite Force of his plan to kill the governor for opposing the blasphemy law, Geo News channel quoted unnamed sources as saying.

He had told his colleagues that if he killed the governor, he should be arrested alive as he would lay down his weapon after firing.

Qadri, who is from Rawalpindi, also told investigators that he had been removed from the Special Branch for being a "security risk," the channel reported.

Qadri was not on the duty roster of policemen assigned to guard the governor till Monday night.

His name was included in the roster at his own request yesterday morning, interior minister Rehman Malik told the media.

Following these revelations, the joint investigation team probing Taseer's killing arrested two officials, who had assigned Qadri to the Governor's security detail and eight more personnel of the Elite Force, an anti-terrorism unit that guards several VIPs.

Investigators also plan to question the officials who recruited Qadri in the Elite Force.

Qadri joined the Punjab Constabulary in 2003 and was deputed to an Elite Force platoon in 2008.

A police officer told the Dawn newspaper that Qadri had been assigned to Taseer's security detail during the Governor's visits to Islamabad and had once been deployed to guard prime minister Gilani.

PPP leaders and the media raised questions about several other aspects of 66-year-old Taseer's killing.

Following reports that Qadri had emptied one magazine of his assault rifle and then calmly reloaded it and continued firing, PPP leader Farahnaz Ispahani questioned why the other policemen assigned to guard Taseer had not reacted during this timeframe.

"A time span of around 30 seconds, during which the assassin shot at the Governor and dropped his weapon, saw zero activity by the rest of the guards," The News daily said in a report.

Qadri's colleagues were "apparently very confident and sure that he meant no further harm" and this is "another question that merits an answer," the report said.

Qadri had also recently changed his lifestyle and grown a beard, "which could easily be identified with the faction that feels strongly about blasphemy," it said.

The daily quoted police sources as saying that Qadri had "nursed a grudge against the Punjab Governor over his blunt statement" on blasphemy.

The assassin was associated with Dawat-e-Islami, a non-political and non-violent religious group with Barelvi leanings, a colleague of Qadri told the media.

Qadri, who has five brothers and four sisters, got married three years back and his first child, a son, was born four months ago.

Police detained his brothers and father from their house in Rawalpindi soon after Qadri confessed to his crime.