Mumtaz Qadri

Pakistan’s Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the killer of a politician who sought blasphemy law reform.

Mumtaz Qadri, a former police bodyguard, was feted as a hero by Islamic parties after he gunned down the liberal governor of Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, in 2011.

Qadri shot Taseer 28 times during broad daylight in an upscale market in the capital Islamabad.

He later admitted the killing, saying he objected to the politician’s calls to reform Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which rights groups say are frequently used to carry out vendettas — particularly against religious minorities.

Taseer had also been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been on death row since 2010 after being accused of passing anti-Islamic remarks.

“The criminal application filed by the convict is dismissed and the criminal appeal filed by the state is allowed, the conviction and sentence allowed by the trial court are restored,” Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, head of a three-member Supreme Court bench hearing appeals, said.

The court also restored Qadri’s terrorism conviction, removed by a lower court in March.

Qadri may now file a review petition against the top court’s verdict or appeal to the president for mercy, lawyer Muhammad Amir Malik, who was present at the hearing, told AFP.

“This judgment has also closed for him the option of seeking forgiveness from the family of the deceased because the restoration of the terrorism conviction means that the state will itself become a party against the convict,” he added.

At his original trial, Qadri was showered with rose petals by some lawyers. His legal team included two judges, including the former chief justice of Lahore High Court.

Even unproven allegations frequently stir mob violence and lynchings, as in the case of a Christian laborer and his wife who were burned alive on a brick kiln stove last November.

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