Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s brutal murder at the hands of a security personnel is a cruel reminder of where we have landed ourselves: in a dark morass of irrationality lorded over by pernicious ideologies.
He was a brave man and stood for a liberal, tolerant and progressive Pakistan where economic and political freedoms could be upheld. He has paid for his life for his bold stance on the blasphemy law and countering Talibanisation. He was our hope and without him Jinnah’s Pakistan – NOT a theocracy – is in grave danger.
His legacy will be remembered by history and he will go down in history as a major icon of progressivism.
May he rest in peace. PTH mourns his loss and condemns this attack. The federal and provincial government should immediately investigate this murder and punish the criminal as well as the network behind him.
The war against extremism will have continue – otherwise, we are headed towards anarchy, more sectarianism and utter chaos.
Long live Pakistan!
