SC upholds Mumtaz Qadri’s death sentence

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the death sentence of Mumtaz Qadri, the man convicted for the murder of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.

Mumtaz Qadri had challenged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict on his death sentence in the Supreme Court. Lawyers for Mumtaz Qadri filed the plea in the apex court claiming that the matter was not about murder but provocation.

In its ruling the Supreme Court also declared the IHC decision of annulling the death sentence under the Anti-Terrorism Act null and void.

A former commando of the Punjab Police’s Elite Force, Mumtaz Qadri was sentenced to death for the murder of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad’s Koshar Market on January 4, 2011.

Qadri had admitted to the murder saying he was opposed to Salman Taseer’s calls to reform the blasphemy law.

In March 2015, the IHC has also dismissed Qadri’s appeal against his death sentence but accepted his appeal of ordering the removal of terrorism charges from his case, annulling the sentence under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

A 64-page verdict by the IHC said that “the conviction of appellant recorded by the trial court under Section 7(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act is set aside, the appeal to this extent is allowed and appellant is acquitted from the said charge whereas conviction and sentence recorded under Section 302 (b) PPC is upheld and appeal to this extent is dismissed.”

The IHC bench said: “It is amazing to note that the appellant (Mumtaz Qadri) took protections and rights guaranteed by the Constitution but deprived deceased (Salmaan Taseer) from all constitutional guarantees.”

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had awarded death sentence to Mumtaz Qadri on October 01, 2011 with Rs0.2 million as fine and compensation to the legal heirs of Taseer.