He emptied the entire 28-bullet magazine of his automatic weapon into his target – a serving Punjab governor, Salmaan Taseer. The murder resulted in a widescale fear and panic. But the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that Mumtaz Qadri cannot be tried under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). In other words, the high profile murder is a simple matter of homicide.
In October 2011, an anti-terrorism court gave two death sentences to Qadri – one under Section 7(A) of the ATA and another under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). While the IHC upheld the sentence under PPC, it discarded the death penalty under the ATA. Qadri’s lawyers have decided to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando assigned to the governor’s security, killed him on January 4, 2011, in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market. He was arrested, and confessed to the assassination a week later.
Section 7 of the ATA defines offenses which fall under the ambit of this act. Under this law, an act of terrorism is committed if the accused uses a light or heavy automatic weapon in the crime, if the victim is a public servant, if the victim is subject to cruelty or barbarity, or the incident causes public scare.
“I assume Islamabad High Court’s decision is not a correct one,” says former law minister Dr Khalid Ranjha. “If the murder of a sitting governor is not an act of terrorism, then what is? Quashing his sentence is strange.”
He says taking the life of a citizen – under strict confines of the law – is a prerogative of the state. The assassin violated his own oath of protecting the governor and the way he killed him was a classic act of terrorism.
The counsels defending Qadri argued that he was justified in killing Governor Taseer because, in their words, he was an apostate, and that in some circumstances apostates could be killed even if they were not convicted. They relied on decrees issued by clerics against the governor after he campaigned for justice for a Christian woman who had been accused of blasphemy.
Taseer had only said that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were prone to misuse. First promulgated by the British Raj, the laws prohibit blasphemy against any recognized religion, and remained part of Pakistan Penal Code until military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq changed them between 1980 and 1986.
“You cannot kill someone only for criticising the law because it was promulgated by a military dictator. The murder of Salmaan Taseer cannot be justified on any grounds,” says Mufti Abdul Qavi. If Mumtaz Qadri had grievances against the governor, he says, he should have taken him to the court of law.
Ali Qadir Gilani, a civil society activist, says the court has provided relief to the accused by quashing his death sentence under the ATA. He argues that the case was fit to be heard by military courts. “If the state can hang people who ‘tried to kill’ Gen Pervez Musharraf, why stops it from hanging someone who killed a governor?”
Qadri’s defence team has a month to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Their core argument will likely be that he was provoked by the governor’s remarks.
Taseer was known to be a brave man. By campaigning for justice for the Christian woman Asiya Bibi, he wanted to set a precedent. He knew the dangers involved, but he was resolute. Few have had the courage to further his cause since his assassination. One reason for that is that many religious leaders, their followers, and even lawyers, see Mumtaz Qadri as their hero.
“At least you cannot call him a terrorist anymore,” said Rao Rahim, one of Qadri’s lawyers.
Shahzad Raza is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @shahzadrez
In October 2011, an anti-terrorism court gave two death sentences to Qadri – one under Section 7(A) of the ATA and another under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). While the IHC upheld the sentence under PPC, it discarded the death penalty under the ATA. Qadri’s lawyers have decided to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando assigned to the governor’s security, killed him on January 4, 2011, in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market. He was arrested, and confessed to the assassination a week later.
Section 7 of the ATA defines offenses which fall under the ambit of this act. Under this law, an act of terrorism is committed if the accused uses a light or heavy automatic weapon in the crime, if the victim is a public servant, if the victim is subject to cruelty or barbarity, or the incident causes public scare.
“I assume Islamabad High Court’s decision is not a correct one,” says former law minister Dr Khalid Ranjha. “If the murder of a sitting governor is not an act of terrorism, then what is? Quashing his sentence is strange.”
He says taking the life of a citizen – under strict confines of the law – is a prerogative of the state. The assassin violated his own oath of protecting the governor and the way he killed him was a classic act of terrorism.
The counsels defending Qadri argued that he was justified in killing Governor Taseer because, in their words, he was an apostate, and that in some circumstances apostates could be killed even if they were not convicted. They relied on decrees issued by clerics against the governor after he campaigned for justice for a Christian woman who had been accused of blasphemy.
Taseer had only said that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were prone to misuse. First promulgated by the British Raj, the laws prohibit blasphemy against any recognized religion, and remained part of Pakistan Penal Code until military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq changed them between 1980 and 1986.
“You cannot kill someone only for criticising the law because it was promulgated by a military dictator. The murder of Salmaan Taseer cannot be justified on any grounds,” says Mufti Abdul Qavi. If Mumtaz Qadri had grievances against the governor, he says, he should have taken him to the court of law.
Ali Qadir Gilani, a civil society activist, says the court has provided relief to the accused by quashing his death sentence under the ATA. He argues that the case was fit to be heard by military courts. “If the state can hang people who ‘tried to kill’ Gen Pervez Musharraf, why stops it from hanging someone who killed a governor?”
Qadri’s defence team has a month to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Their core argument will likely be that he was provoked by the governor’s remarks.
Taseer was known to be a brave man. By campaigning for justice for the Christian woman Asiya Bibi, he wanted to set a precedent. He knew the dangers involved, but he was resolute. Few have had the courage to further his cause since his assassination. One reason for that is that many religious leaders, their followers, and even lawyers, see Mumtaz Qadri as their hero.
“At least you cannot call him a terrorist anymore,” said Rao Rahim, one of Qadri’s lawyers.
Shahzad Raza is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @shahzadrez