ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court has convicted and sentenced a police officer to death for the killing of a liberal governor earlier this year.
The high-profile slaying of Punjab provincial governor, Salman Taseer, by officer Mumtaz Qadri in January in Islamabad was widely taken as a sign that Pakistan was buckling under the weight of extremism.
State-run Pakistan Television says Qadri was convicted and sentenced on Saturday in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi close to the capital. The trial was held in a prison and was closed to the media.
Qadari was detained seconds after the shooting and has admitted to it. He said Taseer deserved to die because of his criticism of Pakistani laws that mandate the death sentence for insulting Islam.
