JUNAID AHMAD
Ahmad is assistant professor of law at Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. He said today: “The assassination of the ruling party’s governor of Pakistan’s largest province, the Punjab, adds one more to the list of high-profile political assassinations in the country. Governor Salman Taseer, an old stalwart of the ruling PPP [Pakistan People’s Party], was shot dead by one of his own elite guards while he was visiting Islamabad. The guard was apprehended and reportedly admits to the assassination to ‘defend the honor of the Prophet [Muhammad].’ The context is the deceased governor’s remarks calling for a repeal of Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy law which came into sharp focus recently when a Pakistani Christian woman was accused of committing blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
“The assassination and the chaos that has ensued happen at a time when the ruling PPP coalition government has dramatically lost its legitimacy, both from its coalition political parties and from the popular street. And once again, Pakistan descends into an incredible period of instability and uncertainty.”

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