Qadri indicted in Taseer murder case

RAWALPINDI: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi on Monday charged Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri in Governor Salman Taseer murder case.

Qadri had confessed to killing Taseer, objecting to his calls to reform the blasphemy law, which sentences to death those convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

One of Qadri's lawyers, Malik Mohammad Rafiq Khan, told after an anti-terrorism court session held behind closed doors: The judge examined the record and said that apparently the accused committed murder and terrorism.

"The judge read out the charges to the accused. The accused pleaded not guilty," Khan said in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The next hearing will be held on February 26, when witnesses and evidence will be presented, the lawyer added.

Taseer's killing was the most high-profile political assassination in Pakistan since former prime minister Benazir Bhutto died in a gun and suicide attack on her motorcade at the end of an election rally on December 27, 2007.(AFP)