Angry PPP supporters took to the streets of Lahore There has been strong international condemnation of the assassination of one of Pakistan’s best-known liberal politicians in the capital Islamabad.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regretted the death of Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province, saying he had promoted tolerance.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called his death “a loss for Pakistan”.
Mr Taseer was shot dead by one of his bodyguards angered over the governor’s opposition to blasphemy laws.
The governor – a senior member of the governing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – had recently angered Islamists by appealing for a Christian woman, sentenced to death for blasphemy, to be pardoned.
“I had the opportunity to meet Governor Taseer in Pakistan and I admired his work to promote tolerance and the education of Pakistan’s future generations,” said Mrs Clinton in a statement.
“His death is a great loss. The United States remains committed to helping the government and people of Pakistan as they persevere in their campaign to bring peace and stability to their country.”
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was “shocked” by the killing.
Pakistan’s high commissioner to London, Wajid Shamshul Hassan, told the BBC’s Newshour programme that the assassination exposed the divisions in his country.
“It has shown that you can be held hostage by a minority of religious people and they can do whatever they want. That is not the way we are going to allow in the country,” he said.
“We will be tough on them. Unless we get rid of such people in our society, unless we purge them from the various security agencies, you can’t feel that justice will be done.”
Mr Taseer angered Islamists with his support for Asia Bibi, left Witnesses said Mr Taseer, 66, was riddled with bullets from an automatic rifle as he returned to his car at the Kohsar Market, a shopping centre in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik said the guard – named as Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri – had confessed to the killing.
Mr Malik told a news conference: “The police guard who killed him says he did this because Mr Taseer recently defended the proposed amendments to the blasphemy law. This is what he told the police after surrendering himself.
“But we are investigating to find out whether it was his individual act or whether someone else was also behind it,” he added.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared three days of national mourning and appealed for calm. He also ordered an immediate inquiry into Mr Taseer’s killing.
Mr Taseer’s body has been taken to Punjab’s capital, Lahore, where a state funeral will be held.
Mr Taseer – a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari – made headlines by appealing for the pardon of Christian woman Asia Bibi who had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Friends of the governor say he knew he was risking his life by speaking out.
“Salman’s murder has given [us] an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to his ideals,” Mr Hassan told the BBC.
“He talked to [Asia Bibi] because he wanted to send a message of assurance to the minorities that we will not allow injustice to happen against them.”
Mr Taseer’s death is the most high-profile assassination in Pakistan since former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in December 2007.
The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says Mr Taseer was one of Pakistan’s most important political figures and his death will add further instability to the country.
PPP supporters wept and shouted as the governor’s coffin was driven away from a hospital in Islamabad.
Dozens took to the streets in Lahore, burning tyres and blocking traffic. There were also protests in the central city of Multan.
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