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10 January 2011
Last updated at 03:52 ET
The bodyguard accused of shooting Pakistani governor Salman Taseer has confessed in court to the killing.
Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri told the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi that he had acted alone in the attack.
He was whisked into court a day earlier than scheduled to prevent supporters showing up, correspondents say.
It comes a day after 50,000 protesters marched in Karachi against proposed amendments - backed by the slain Punjab governor - to the strict blasphemy law.
After his arrest following last Tuesday's assassination in Islamabad, Qadri said he had been angered by Mr Taseer's backing for reforms to the blasphemy laws.
A private member's bill which seeks to remove the law's mandatory death sentence and lessen the likelihood of miscarriages of justice has provoked a wave of conservative fury.
The legislation returned to the spotlight in November when a Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad. She denies the charge.
Governor Taseer had also angered hardline clerics by speaking out on the mother of five's behalf.
In a news conference on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated that the government did not plan to amend the strict legislation.
But Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti said the blasphemy law should be amended to avoid its misuse.
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Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri told the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi that he had acted alone in the attack.
He was whisked into court a day earlier than scheduled to prevent supporters showing up, correspondents say.
It comes a day after 50,000 protesters marched in Karachi against proposed amendments - backed by the slain Punjab governor - to the strict blasphemy law.
After his arrest following last Tuesday's assassination in Islamabad, Qadri said he had been angered by Mr Taseer's backing for reforms to the blasphemy laws.
A private member's bill which seeks to remove the law's mandatory death sentence and lessen the likelihood of miscarriages of justice has provoked a wave of conservative fury.
The legislation returned to the spotlight in November when a Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad. She denies the charge.
Governor Taseer had also angered hardline clerics by speaking out on the mother of five's behalf.
In a news conference on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated that the government did not plan to amend the strict legislation.
But Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti said the blasphemy law should be amended to avoid its misuse.
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>