EU condemns Taseer killing

BRUSSELS - The European Union’s foreign policy chief Tuesday condemned the “brutal” assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and called on Pakistan to catch his killers.

Taseer was gunned down by a bodyguard Tuesday at a market in Islamabad.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton “strongly condemns the brutal murder of Salman Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province”, a statement released in Brussels read.

According to local officials, the bodyguard confessed that he had shot the man he was meant to be protecting because the politician had criticized Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. But some sources alleged that the slaying had been instigated by others.

“The European Union urges the Pakistan authorities to bring the perpetrators of this crime rapidly to justice,” the statement said.