Pakistan on alert as governor's assassin hanged
Pakistan has stepped up security at flashpoints across the country after Islamabad hanged Mumtaz Qadri, a former police bodyguard who killed a senior politician back in 2011.
Paramilitary forces and police in riot gear as well as ambulances and dozens of police vehicles were deployed in the capital, garrison city of Rawalpindi, southern port city of Karachi and eastern city of Lahore on Monday.
Qadri, who assassinated Salmaan Taseer, the former governor of the country's province of Punjab, was executed at 04:30 local time (23:30 GMT) at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Monday, after all his petitions and mercy appeals were rejected.
The execution has triggered protests in some cities. Most schools closed down in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi in fear of violence by supporters of the executed former police officer. In some places, the protesters demanded the store owners close their businesses and Qadri's supporters blocked roads and burned tires.
Qadri shot Salman Taseer-- the high-profile member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Punjab Governor -- 28 times while guarding him in an Islamabad market in early 2011.
Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the guard had told police that he killed Taseer because the provincial governor sought reforms to Pakistan's blasphemy law.
Critics say Pakistan's blasphemy laws are largely misused, with hundreds of people languishing in jails under false charges. In most cases, even unproven allegations frequently stir mob violence and bloodshed.
The law has raised concerns among rights activists and some liberal politicians who say it is often exploited by extremists or those who want to settle personal scores.
The developments come at a time when the Islamabad government is trying to tackle the growing militancy, political instability and extremism in the country.
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