Pakistani assassin's lawyer, former judge, ruled against pardon for Christian woman in blasphemy case
October 14, 2011
A Pakistani lawyer who is now defending the confessed killer of Governor Salman Taseer is a former judge who ruled against a presidential pardon for a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.
Khawaja Muhammad Sharif was a judge in the Lahore High Court, who last November ordered President Ali Zardari not to consider a pardon for Asia Bibi, the Christian woman facing the death penalty for alleged blasphemy. Having retired from the court, Sharif is now defending his client, Mumtaz Qadri, against the death penalty.
Qadri is the confessed killer of Governor Salman Taseer, who was killed shortly after he argued for a change in Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Islamic groups applauded the killing. Taseer had supported the drive for presidential pardon in the case of Asia Bibi.
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