Pakistani investigators believe Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the Elite Force official who assassinated Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was backed by the religious parties and did not act on his own.
“He was definitely the man who executed the plot, but he was not alone, he had the support of some extremist religious outfits. Some security officials were also on board,” an investigator told this newspaper. Qadri had earlier told investigators he had discussed the plot with fellow securitymen.
The police has registered an FIR, No. 6/2011, under Sections 302 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Sec. 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, against Qadri. His case was referred to the Anti-Terrorism Court after a normal court termed the incident an act of terrorism. The FIR says, “Salman Taseer had been assassinated with the assistance and conspiracies of religious and political factions.”
Qadri was presented before the ATC Rawalpindi on Thursday under tight security. The court was asked for five-day remand but the magistrate remanded Qadri to police custody for one day with the instruction to produce him in court for further remand on Friday. “The police has charged Qadri with murder, terrorism and violence,” one of Qadri’s lawyers, Mr Farooq Sulehria, said.
Ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Imtiaz Safdar Warraich said he was not satisfied with the investigations into the assassination of Taseer as the PML(N)-led Punjab provincial government was responsible for his security. He said Taseer’s assassination was politically motivated.
Law minister Babar Awan also repeated Mr Warraich’s assertion and said, “We will investigate the murder keeping in view all options. This seems a political conspiracy.”
Qadri was declared unfit for VVIP security duties in 2005 after the suicide attack on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. “In 2005, (senior superintendent of police, Special Branch, Rawalpindi) Nasir Khan Durrani declared the suspect not fit for VVIP duties,” a police official said. He said Mr Durrani wrote this note on the personal file of Qadri but the authorities ignored the warning and included him in the VVIP security squad after giving him commando training.
Meanwhile, the religious parties were all praise for Qadri and warned the government that any attempt to repeal or amend the blasphemy law would be resisted. In Multan, Tehrik Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat (TTNR) offered full legal and moral support to Qadri, saying no stone would be left unturned to get him released. “We will dedicate all our energies and resources to the sacred cause. We are also going to hold a public meeting in Karachi on January 9 for the protection of the Namoos-e-Risalat,” the alliance of religious parties said in a joint declaration.