LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday paid rich tribute to Salmaan Taseer, saying that the martyred former governor of Punjab had always raised his voice for the oppressed.
In a statement, Bilawal said that Salmaan Taseer resisted the dictatorial regimes for the restoration of democracy, adding that the slain leader was an asset of the party.
Bilawal added that Salmaan Taseer was a strong advocate of the restoration of the 1973 constitution in its original form and believed in the rule of law.
Salmaan Taseer had been shot 27 times in the chest on January 4, 2011 in Islamabad by a religious extremist Mumtaz Qadri who accused him of blasphemy. Mumtaz Qadri was unable to prove his blasphemy allegations on the founder of Daily Times and was sentenced to death by Supreme Court.
Qadri was hanged on February 29, 2016 in Adiala Jail after his appeal for mercy was rejected by President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain in December the previous year.
There is bravery and then there is @salmantaseer bravery. Punjab politics is now in the hands of political pygmies, megalomaniacs and cowards. 7yrs on we slip further into the abyss. #RememberingSalmanTaseer
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) January 4, 2018
In his tweet, Bilawal said that Punjab politics was dominated by ‘political pygmies, megalomaniacs and cowards’ after the death of Salmaan Taseer as seven years after the tragic killing, ‘we slip further into the abyss’.