Pakistan: Judge Pervez Ali Shah flees 'death threats' after blasphemy verdict

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the judge has been forced to put a hold on his career - and his fate will serve as a warning to other judges willing to take on the tough task of tackling extremism in Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: BBC News| South Asia
By BBC News | October 25, 2011

A Pakistani judge has fled to Saudi Arabia after receiving death threats for sentencing a religious extremist.

Pervez Ali Shah sentenced Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri to death for murdering Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer because of his opposition to the blasphemy law.

Qadri said he was proud of what he had done - and many Pakistanis staged large protests in his support.

Critics of the law say it can be used to persecute minority faiths and is sometimes exploited for grudges.

'Defender of Islam'

Qadri shot the man he was supposed to be guarding 27 times in the back on 4 January in the capital, Islamabad.

Qadri's lawyers told the BBC their client argued that it was not unlawful because "he killed an apostate who insulted the prophet".

Salmaan Taseer had called for debate about the law - which human rights groups have condemned as unjust.

He also came out in support of a Christian mother of five, Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

The assassination divided Pakistan, with many hailing Qadri as a hero.

Lawyers even garlanded Qadri and showered him with rose petals when he appeared in court saying he was a defender of Islam.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the judge has been forced to put a hold on his career - and his fate will serve as a warning to other judges willing to take on the tough task of tackling extremism in Pakistan.

The death penalty has rarely been carried out in Pakistan in recent years.

Two months after Mr Taseer's death, Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was also murdered after speaking out about the need for debate about the laws.

Correspondents say the killings have temporarily stifled the debate.

In August, Mr Taseer's son Shahbaz was kidnapped in the Punjabi capital Lahore.

His fate is unknown and militants are suspected of carrying out the abduction.

Pakistan's government has said it has no intention of amending the blasphemy law.

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