Salman Taseer's killer remanded to police custody for a day

Islamabad, Jan 6(ANI): Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the bodyguard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, has been remanded to police custody for a day by the area magistrate.

Qadri was presented before the area magistrate because three judges of the ATC were on leave on Wednesday.

The magistrate remanded him in police custody with the instruction to produce him in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for further remand, the Daily Times reports.

Qadri's lawyer Ashraf Gujjar said he would appear in an anti-terrorism court on Thursday.

"Police have charged Qadri with murder, terrorism and violence," another lawyer, Farooq Sulehria said.

Hundreds of people were present outside the court during the hearing of the case.

On Tuesday, Taseer was assassinated by Qadri, one of his own elite security force protectors, who opened fire on him when he was moving towards his car in Kohsar Market, Islamabad.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Qadri had confessed to assassinating Taseer because of the governor's support for the release of Pakistani-Christian woman Asia Bibi, who has been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges. (ANI)