Pakistani Governor Killed by Own Guard

A key Pakistani governor was gunned down by his own bodyguard today in Islamabad, in the biggest assassination the violence-wracked country has endured since Benazir Bhutto's slaying three years ago. Salman Taseer, Punjab province's governor and a key ally of President Asif Ali Zardari, was gunned down as he got out of his car in a posh shopping district, reports the BBC. "The governor fell down and the man who fired at him threw down his gun and raised both hands," witness said.

"The police guard who killed him says he did this because Mr. Taseer recently defended the proposed amendments to the blasphemy law," said a Pakistani minister. The Pakistan People's Party will observe two weeks of mourning, but the slaying is likely to deepen the country's turmoil. (More Pakistan stories.)