Prosecutor in Punjab governor's murder case quits

Saiful Malook, the Pakistani prosecutor who was pursuing the case against the police guard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, has withdrawn from the case, citing security concerns, a media report said on Friday.

Mumtaz Qadri shot dead Taseer on January 4 in the heart of the capital because he was angered by the governor's campaign to free a Christian woman sentenced to death under the draconian blasphemy law.

Malook pulled out from the case saying the government had failed to fulfil the promise to provide him with full security, the Express Tribune reported.

Malook was quoted as saying in the report that the government had promised to provide him with security while he was following the case, but has not fulfilled the promise so far. The lawyer also claimed that the case challan was incomplete as the police have not yet determined if the assassin was instigated by clerics to murder Taseer.

He said the challan will remain incomplete until the case against the clerics is decided.

On February 1, a Pakistani court deferred the indictment of Qadri as the prosecution could not provide some documents to defence lawyers.

Hard-line Pakistani Islamist parties have rallied in support of Qadri. Liberals and civil society activists were outraged when Qadri was showered with rose petals at the earlier court hearings.