Pakistan's Supreme Court today accepted a plea by the killer of Punjab governor, challenging his death sentence given by an anti-terrorism court and upheld by Islamabad High Court in the controversial blasphemy case.
Governor Salman Taseer, an outspoken critic of predominantly Muslim Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, was killed by his bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri in January 2011.
Qadri, viewed as a hero by many who believe Taseer committed blasphemy by questioning the laws, was convicted of shooting Taseer dead in Islamabad for alleged blasphemy.
He was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court and his appeal against the capital punishment was rejected by the Islamabad High Court.
As per law, he filed an appeal in the apex court and urged it to overturn the lower court's verdict.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa after initial hearing accepted his petition.
Qadri's counsel Mian Naseer said that a trial court ruled Rs 100,000 fine and a double death penalty for his client. He contended that this was a blasphemy case, adding that Taseer had labeled the blasphemy law 'a black law'.
Justice Khosa asked how can terming the law as such can be blasphemous. He added that there is a difference between committing blasphemy and terming the blasphemy law as wrong.
After the initial arguments, the apex formally adopted the case for a hearing in October.
On March 9, the Islamabad High Court had rejected Qadri's appeal against his death sentence under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) but accepted his application to void the Anti-Terrorism Act's (ATA) Section 7.
Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan and people accused of this are often vulnerable to violence.
The blasphemy law mandates the death penalty and is often used in poor, rural areas to settle personal scores. Those acquitted have often been lynched.
