Pakistan turmoil deepens after murder

The governor of Pakistan’s central Punjab province has been gunned down by one of his own security guards, deepening the country’s political crisis.

Salman Taseer, a businessman and close ally of Asif Ali Zardari, the president, was shot after he stepped out of his bullet-proof car near a market in central Islamabad on Tuesday.

Witnesses said the gunman, a trained police commando, handed himself in to police after the attack, saying he was ready to face the consequences of his actions.

Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri told investigators he acted because of the liberal politician’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Mr Taseer had campaigned for a pardon for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in November under the blasphemy laws.

Mr Taseer was a friend and colleague of Mr Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, who was herself assassinated in 2007. His death is a blow to the president and immediately raised new questions over the future of his already troubled presidency.

On Sunday, the Pakistan People’s Party, led by Mr Zardari, became a minority government after one of its key allies left the ruling coalition, citing differences over the latest petrol price increase just a day earlier.

Shortly before Mr Taseer’s death, Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and the main leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz called for the recent oil price increase to be reversed and gave the government a three-day deadline, suggesting he could consider alliances with other parties.

A Pakistani federal minister on Tuesday said the withdrawal of the oil price increase would increase the budget deficit, already expected to run over a limit agreed with the IMF. He said: “If we save the coalition, relations with the IMF [under a $11.3bn loan agreed in 2008] will be further in trouble”.

Analysts said Mr Taseer’s killing raised fresh questions about the infiltration of the police and security services by Islamic hardliners.

Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political commentator, said: “This incident will be a powerful reminder of the way Pakistan is so badly exposed to the threat from Islamists. The killing will have to be followed by investigations to determine how deep was the penetration of such people around the governor’s police force.”