MUMTAZ Qadri has paid for what he legally deserved. Now the question is whether his execution will create the desired deterrent effect.

Thousands of his supporters who gathered for his funeral at the Liaquat Bagh ground, perhaps the largest gathering in recent years and the accolades showered upon him by religious leaders, show that it will have no deterrent effect.

On the contrary, this may perhaps be taken as an endorsement of the belief that you can kill anyone who you think is blasphemer, without waiting for the decision of any court of law. In other words everybody has a licence to kill anyone perceived to be a blasphemer.

If this be the conviction of thousands upon thousands of those supporting Qadri all over Pakistan, then God save Pakistan.

S M Anwar

Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2016