ISLAMABAD: The fifth death anniversary of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer will be observed on Monday.

The former governor was shot dead by his body guard, Mumtaz Qadri, on January 4, 2011, allegedly because Taseer had defended a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has issued a statement to pay homage to Salman Taseer’s memory and said he died protecting the rights of minorities.

Mr Zardari’s statement read, “On the fifth anniversary of Salman Taseer’s death, let us pledge to prevent the use of such laws”.

He said it was reassuring that the Senate Committee of the Whole had called for reforming the legal regimen to prevent the misuse of these laws and expressed hope that the House of Federation will pursue the objective. He said the assassination of Salman Taseer was not just a loss for the party, that it was a loss for the whole country.

Senator Farhatullah Babar said extremists continue to exploit religion based laws to impose their own versions of the religion on others.

The former governor’s killer, Mumtaz Qadri has been awarded the death sentence and the matter is now pending before the President of Pakistan.

Political figures, civil society activists and Taseer’s friends have been demanding the killer be punished.

Qadri, however, also has many groups supporting him and his pictures were also used for campaigning during the local bodies’ elections.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2016