Pakistan hangs man for killing governor who opposed country's blasphemy laws

Pakistan has hanged Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the former police bodyguard who killed a liberal governor for opposing the country's blasphemy laws.

In January 2011, Mumtaz Qadri shot dead former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer at a market in Islamabad. The shooter said killing the official was his religious duty because Taseer had spoken out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws, according to BBC News.

In the same year, Pakistan sentenced Mumtaz Qadri to death. Some Islamist groups and hard-line activists, however, considered him a hero.

After Qadri's execution at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, crowds flooded the streets to protest, prompting authorities to move to a status of high alert. Riot police were quickly stationed around the area of Qadri's neighborhood.

In an interview with AFP, Qadri's brother Malik Abid recalled their last meeting.

"I have no regrets," Malik Abid told AFP. "We started crying, but he hugged us and chanted 'God is great.'"

The execution indicates the increasing confidence of Pakistan's government in keeping hard-line and religious groups in check. It also highlights the military's willingness to control militant groups with a local agenda.

Wilson Chowdry of the British Pakistani Christian Association called the execution a "watershed moment" that can help turn around humanitarian rights in Pakistan. He also commended the Pakistani government for standing up and punishing a man who practiced "extremism" in the country.

Taseer was murdered for going against the country's blasphemy laws, which are often used to persecute Christians and other minorities. It can also be recalled that Taseer had fought for the pardon of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in 2010 for alleged blasphemy against the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

"The Supreme Court, when they made the judgment Qadri, openly said the blasphemy laws should not be above reproach," Chowdry told Premier. "That opens the door for the blasphemy laws now to be reanalyzed."

A large group of mourners is expected to attend Mumtaz Qadri's funeral on Tuesday at Liaquat Bagh park near Rawalpindi.