Governor of Pakistan's Punjab Assassinated Over His Support For Christian Woman Convicted of Blasphemy

The Washington Post reports that Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, was assassinated today by one of his own security guards who was angered by Taseer's support for a pardon for Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman recently sentenced to death for blasphemy. (See prior posting.) Taseer, a close advisor to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zadari, was killed by rifle fire at a shopping plaza near his home in Islamabad. Taseer had been a strong critic of religious extremists. The shooter surrendered to police after the killing.