Islamabad: The governor of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by his guard outside the Kohsar Market in Sector F-6 on Tuesday.
“A man in uniform and seems to be member of the Elite Force that was escorting the governor approached to his car and opened fire by his Klashnikov,” an eyewitness at the market said.
The governor, who has been receiving threats for past few days, got multiple bullet wounds and was rushed to Polyclinic in a critical condition, where he died, sources said.
Doctors found 27 bullet wounds on his body, sources at the hospital said.
“One of the Elite Force member Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri killed the governor,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told media in Karachi. The attacker, who said he killed the governor over his stance against the blasphemy law, surrendered to police, the minister added.
The governor traveling in a private Honda car (QG-82) was returning after having lunch with his friend at Table Talk, an open-air restaurant housed in Kohsar Market. who said he killed the governor over his stance against the blasphemy law.
Rawalpindi police formally arrested six suspects from the site of the incident, while all members of the governor’ s squad are being questioned, Malik said.
“The body of governor will be taken to Lahore by tonight,” Punjab’s Senior Minister, Raja Riaz said, adding his Namaz-e-Janaza will be held on Wednesday at the Governor House .
An investigation team, under the supervision of DIG Islamabad Binyamin, has been constituted to probe into the matter, the interior minister said.
The PPP, whose government has been in crisis for last couple of days, has announced to observe two-week mourning, which was also supported by minorities living in Pakistan .
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