Islamabad, February 03: A Pakistani court on Wednesday deferred the indictment of the police guard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer last month as the prosecution could not provide some documents to defence lawyers.
Mumtaz Qadri has confessed that he shot and killed Taseer on January 4 because he was angered by the politician’s opposition to the blasphemy law.
Qadri’s indictment could not take place as planned since the prosecution had not provided his lawyers with some police statements.
The anti-terrorism court conducting Qadri’s trial fixed the next hearing for February 4.
Police are yet to determine whether Qadri acted alone or was part of a wider conspiracy. Reports have said Qadri told his colleagues in the Elite Force, a police unit that guards VIPs, that he intended to kill Taseer.
Religious hardliners have rallied in support of Qadri.
Around 100 people gathered outside the heavily guarded Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Qadri’s trial is being conducted, and demanded his release.
Qadri was showered with rose petals at the earlier court hearings, causing outrage among liberals and civil society activists.
—PTI