Salmaan Taseer

Salmaan Taseer was born in 1944 in Lahore, Pakistan. He was the son of poet and academic M. D. Taseer and grew up in a family connected with Pakistan's literary and intellectual circles. He studied at St. Anthony's School and Government College Lahore before going to England, where he studied accountancy.

Taseer developed an early interest in politics and became associated with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party. He was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly from Lahore in the 1988 general election. He subsequently spent periods outside electoral politics while building his business career.

In business, Taseer founded First Capital Securities Corporation in 1994 and became involved in financial services, telecommunications, media, insurance, and real-estate ventures. He also served as chairman and chief executive of the First Capital and Worldcall groups. He wrote on economic and investment issues and authored Bhutto: A Political Biography.

Taseer returned to government in 2007–08, serving as federal minister for industries, production and special initiatives in the caretaker administration of Prime Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro. In May 2008, he was appointed Governor of Punjab by the federal government led by the PPP. He remained in that position until his death.

During his governorship, Taseer publicly criticized Pakistan's blasphemy law and became an outspoken supporter of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death under the law. His position generated strong opposition from some religious groups and contributed to threats against him.

On 4 January 2011, Taseer was shot and killed in Islamabad by Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, a member of his security detail. Qadri was arrested at the scene. Contemporary reporting stated that Qadri said he killed Taseer because of the governor's criticism of the blasphemy law. Taseer was buried in Lahore on 5 January 2011.

Taseer's political career, business activities, writings, and public position on Pakistan's blasphemy law have remained subjects of discussion in accounts of Pakistan's political history. His tenure as Governor of Punjab lasted from May 2008 to January 2011.