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Former policeman Mumtaz Qadri mourned by tens of thousands after he was hanged for killing Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer
Tens of thousands gathered in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, hoping to glimpse or touch the ambulance carrying the body of Mumtaz Qadri.PHOTO:FAISAL MAHMOOD/REUTERS
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Tens of thousands of people turned out Tuesday for the funeral services of a man who killed a Pakistani politician he accused of blasphemy, underscoring the strength of support for extremist views in the country.
Former policeman Mumtaz Qadriwas executed Monday, five years after he gunned down Salmaan Taseer, then governor of Punjab, the country’s most heavily populated province.
Mr. Taseer had called for reforming Pakistan’s strict laws on blasphemy, which human-rights groups say are routinely abused to target the vulnerable with concocted cases.
The vast turnout of mourners, including lawyers, small-time businessmen and students, underscored the stance of mainstream Pakistanis who lionized the convicted murderer and believed he acted in defense of Islam.
The anger the crowd expressed toward the government and the West demonstrates how far Pakistan has to go in its fight against religious extremism, which experts see as a separate matter from its continuing battle against terrorism.
Also on Tuesday, two local employees of the U.S. consulate in Peshawar were killed by an improvised explosive device. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The center of the northern city of Rawalpindi, Mr. Qadri’s hometown and the headquarters of Pakistan’s powerful army, was choked Tuesday afternoon with crowds of highly charged mourners.
Funeral prayers were held in a historic park there, which was filled with an estimated 50,000 people, as tens of thousands more swarmed through the surrounding streets. Rose petals were tossed at the ambulance bearing Mr. Qadri’s body as it slowly made its way to the park, with members of the crowd clamoring to touch the vehicle.
“The government has no shame, it has no honor. It has done this to please its masters in America. How can an Islamic state execute a man who loves the Prophet so much?” said Abdul Majeed, a 22-year-old engineering student, who took a bus 130 miles from the eastern city of Gujranwala, to attend Mr. Qadri’s funeral.
Though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s conservative political party attracts much of its support from religiously minded Pakistanis, the throng at the funeral chanted “Go, Nawaz, go.”
Rawalpindi, which lies adjacent to the capital, Islamabad, has been a center of support for Mr. Sharif in successive elections, but many attending said they would never vote for him again.
Ayesha Siddiqa, an analyst based in Islamabad, said while Pakistan is pursuing military operations against Taliban insurgents, attention hasn’t been given to deradicalizing society as a whole.
“Nawaz Sharif has taken a huge political risk with the Qadri execution and he will have to pay a price,” said Ms. Siddiqa, adding he would have to depend more heavily on the military for support.
Democracy was restored in Pakistan in 2008 after its latest a period of military rule, but civilians and military still tussle over the levers of power.
Like Mr. Qadri and most Pakistanis, the bulk of his well-wishers are followers of the Barelvi version of Islam. The Barelvis are acutely sensitive to any perceived insult to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, who is protected under the country’s blasphemy laws. Barelvis are regularly attacked by the Pakistani Taliban, which follow a harsher brand of Islam.
“We condemn terrorism,” said Guftar Hussain, a lawyer at the funeral. “What Mumtaz Qadri did had no malice. He was in love with the Prophet. He had no bad intention.”
Mr. Qadri, a member of Mr. Taseer’s police security squad, shot and killed him in January 2011 after the politician spoke out in favor of a woman charged with blasphemy.
The Islamabad Bar Association, which represents lawyers in the capital, called a protest strike Monday, saying Mr. Qadri’s execution was “judicial murder”—despite the fact that he was hanged after his conviction was confirmed by multiple judges right up to the Supreme Court.
“Pakistanis are very peaceful people, but when it comes to the Prophet’s honor, the entire nation is like one sword. Look around you. There are hundreds of thousands of people, which proves what Mumtaz Qadri did was justified in the eyes of the public,” said Khawaja Muhammad Rashid, a lawyer who practices in Rawalpindi, at the funeral prayers.
Azhar Iqbal, a businessman based in Dubai, flew in to attend. “By participating in the funeral of someone so great, I hope Allah may forgive some of my sins too,” he said.
Local television news channels, which usually provide breathless coverage of even minor events, barely reported on the aftermath of Mr. Qadri’s execution after the authorities warned stations not to “provoke hatred and unrest.”
Pakistanis Throng for Funeral of Man Hanged for Killing Critic of Blasphemy Laws - WSJ
Tens of thousands gathered in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, hoping to glimpse or touch the ambulance carrying the body of Mumtaz Qadri.PHOTO:FAISAL MAHMOOD/REUTERS
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Tens of thousands of people turned out Tuesday for the funeral services of a man who killed a Pakistani politician he accused of blasphemy, underscoring the strength of support for extremist views in the country.
Former policeman Mumtaz Qadriwas executed Monday, five years after he gunned down Salmaan Taseer, then governor of Punjab, the country’s most heavily populated province.
Mr. Taseer had called for reforming Pakistan’s strict laws on blasphemy, which human-rights groups say are routinely abused to target the vulnerable with concocted cases.
The vast turnout of mourners, including lawyers, small-time businessmen and students, underscored the stance of mainstream Pakistanis who lionized the convicted murderer and believed he acted in defense of Islam.
The anger the crowd expressed toward the government and the West demonstrates how far Pakistan has to go in its fight against religious extremism, which experts see as a separate matter from its continuing battle against terrorism.
Also on Tuesday, two local employees of the U.S. consulate in Peshawar were killed by an improvised explosive device. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The center of the northern city of Rawalpindi, Mr. Qadri’s hometown and the headquarters of Pakistan’s powerful army, was choked Tuesday afternoon with crowds of highly charged mourners.
Funeral prayers were held in a historic park there, which was filled with an estimated 50,000 people, as tens of thousands more swarmed through the surrounding streets. Rose petals were tossed at the ambulance bearing Mr. Qadri’s body as it slowly made its way to the park, with members of the crowd clamoring to touch the vehicle.
“The government has no shame, it has no honor. It has done this to please its masters in America. How can an Islamic state execute a man who loves the Prophet so much?” said Abdul Majeed, a 22-year-old engineering student, who took a bus 130 miles from the eastern city of Gujranwala, to attend Mr. Qadri’s funeral.
Though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s conservative political party attracts much of its support from religiously minded Pakistanis, the throng at the funeral chanted “Go, Nawaz, go.”
Rawalpindi, which lies adjacent to the capital, Islamabad, has been a center of support for Mr. Sharif in successive elections, but many attending said they would never vote for him again.
Ayesha Siddiqa, an analyst based in Islamabad, said while Pakistan is pursuing military operations against Taliban insurgents, attention hasn’t been given to deradicalizing society as a whole.
“Nawaz Sharif has taken a huge political risk with the Qadri execution and he will have to pay a price,” said Ms. Siddiqa, adding he would have to depend more heavily on the military for support.
Democracy was restored in Pakistan in 2008 after its latest a period of military rule, but civilians and military still tussle over the levers of power.
Like Mr. Qadri and most Pakistanis, the bulk of his well-wishers are followers of the Barelvi version of Islam. The Barelvis are acutely sensitive to any perceived insult to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, who is protected under the country’s blasphemy laws. Barelvis are regularly attacked by the Pakistani Taliban, which follow a harsher brand of Islam.
“We condemn terrorism,” said Guftar Hussain, a lawyer at the funeral. “What Mumtaz Qadri did had no malice. He was in love with the Prophet. He had no bad intention.”
Mr. Qadri, a member of Mr. Taseer’s police security squad, shot and killed him in January 2011 after the politician spoke out in favor of a woman charged with blasphemy.
The Islamabad Bar Association, which represents lawyers in the capital, called a protest strike Monday, saying Mr. Qadri’s execution was “judicial murder”—despite the fact that he was hanged after his conviction was confirmed by multiple judges right up to the Supreme Court.
“Pakistanis are very peaceful people, but when it comes to the Prophet’s honor, the entire nation is like one sword. Look around you. There are hundreds of thousands of people, which proves what Mumtaz Qadri did was justified in the eyes of the public,” said Khawaja Muhammad Rashid, a lawyer who practices in Rawalpindi, at the funeral prayers.
Azhar Iqbal, a businessman based in Dubai, flew in to attend. “By participating in the funeral of someone so great, I hope Allah may forgive some of my sins too,” he said.
Local television news channels, which usually provide breathless coverage of even minor events, barely reported on the aftermath of Mr. Qadri’s execution after the authorities warned stations not to “provoke hatred and unrest.”
Pakistanis Throng for Funeral of Man Hanged for Killing Critic of Blasphemy Laws - WSJ
