Punjab Governor Killed by Own Bodyguard

The assassination of Salman Taseer has pushed Paksitan further towards political chaos.

There is more troubling news out of Pakistan Tuesday, as reports indicate that the outspoken governor of Punjab has been gunned down by one of his own security team in the wealthy Khosar market district of Islamabad. Taseer was a member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, and was a vocal supporter of loosening the country’s blasphemy laws, a proposition that has enraged Pakistan’s devout Muslims. The government is teetering on the brink of collapse after the second biggest member of the PPP-led coalition defected to the opposition Sunday and an upcoming non-confidence vote could completely destabilize the nuclear-armed state, which continues to grapple with a faltering economy and the war on its Afghan border.