RAWALPINDI: Mumtaz Qadri, the convicted killer of Salman Taseer, former governor of Punjab, has reportedly threatened to kill himself if he is not allowed to meet his family as per previous routine.

Qadri’s death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and he was kept in Rawalpindi’s Adiyala jail.

After the apex court’s decision, the venue of his meeting with family was changed. He was allowed to see members of his family only though an ‘iron fence’, apparently because of security reasons and for being a dangerous prisoner.

Also read: Sit-in staged for review of Mumtaz Qadri’s conviction in Karachi

According to a security official, Mumtaz Qadri, a former Elite Force commando and bodyguard of Salman Taseer, protested against the change and refused to follow the new rule. He threatened to commit suicide on Thursday and said the jail authorities would be responsible for his death.

The official said that after the threat the jail authorities had arranged Qadri’s meeting with his family as per the demand.

Qadri’s meeting with his father, brother and other family members started at 4pm and continued for an hour.

Later, Qadri’s father held a meeting with the jail superintendent who told him that the procedure was changed after his death sentence had been upheld by the apex court.

Mumtaz Qadri had gunned down Salman Taseer in 2011 in Islamabad and later he confessed to killing him for allegedly seeking a reform in the blasphemy law.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2015