ISLAMABAD: Mumtaz Qadri, the former Elite Force commando who gunned down his charge — Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer — over his views on the blasphemy law on Jan 4, 2011, was executed at the Adiala Jail early on Monday morning.

The execution was carried out quietly and swiftly, with information being shared on a strictly ‘need-to-know’ basis. The condemned man’s family were brought over for their final meeting under the pretext that Qadri was unwell, ostensibly to keep his supporters from finding out about the imminent execution before it was carried out.

It seemed that the secrecy surrounding the execution caught everyone, including some religious parties and Qadri’s supporters, by surprise. In the twin cities, students were turned back from schools and universities, while shops, fuel pumps and banks along Murree Road closed down for the day, in anticipation of a melee.

In other cities too, the news spread slowly but surely, and protesters poured out on the streets, blocking traffic and staging demonstrations in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and other towns and cities.

In Peshawar, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq led in absentia funeral prayers for Qadri near Jinnah Park and announced his party’s plans to hold week-long protests.

Execution & aftermath

According to a police report, sent to the Punjab Home Department, Qadri was executed at the Central Jail, Adiala at 4.35am on Monday.

Salmaan Taseer was gunned down by guard Mumtaz Qadri five years ago; protests against hanging held in many cities

The Rawalpindi DIG prisons, the Adiala jail superintendent, an Anti-Terrorism Court judge and two doctors were on hand at the time of the execution.

After doctors confirmed the time of death, Qadri’s body was handed over to his brother. The corpse was taken to his ancestral home in the Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi under heavy police guard.

Rumours that Qadri may be executed soon had already begun to circulate on Sunday night, and just after midnight, his supporters announced on social media that Qadri’s family had been summoned for their final meeting at Adiala Jail.

Mohammad Naeem, spokesperson for Sunni Tehreek’s Rawal­pindi chapter, told Dawn that Qadri’s brother and family informed the party about the imminent execution when police brought the family to Adiala Jail just before midnight on Sunday.

“The family was in touch with us, but their mobile phones went silent around 1am, and it was then that we realised that something was wrong and informed our supporters,” he said.

Mumtaz Qadri’s funeral prayers will be offered on Tuesday afternoon at historic Liaquat Bagh after the City District Government of Rawalpindi granted permission. Qadri will be buried in the Athal Village, in Bhara Kahu.

Religious parties and Qadri’s supporters reacted sharply to the execution.

Sarwat Ejaz Qadri of the Sunni Tehreek said this act of the government was tantamount to “the murder of justice in the country”.

The Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) termed the execution “hurried”, saying that this had plunged the whole country in uncertainty. “If Raymond Davis could be pardoned, the same law should have been applied to Mumtaz Qadri too,” an MWM statement said.

The Wafaqul Madaris al-Arabia — the Deobandi seminary board — said in a statement that Qadri’s execution would have serious consequences, adding that not a single person accused of blasphemy had been hanged in the country.

The Shuhada Foundation of the Lal Masjid, which is traditionally opposed to the Barelvi sect that Qadri hailed from, has said the execution was “contrary to Sharia principles”.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016