The Governor of Punjab, Mr Salman Taseer, was gunned down at Islamabads Kohsar Market on Tuesday, as he was about to enter his car after a brief stopover there. He was 66. It was Malik Mumtaz Qadri of the Elite Force, deputed as one of his security guards while he was in the federal capital, who after having pumped 27 bullets into his stomach, chest and neck, threw down his gun, raised his hands and declared that he had no intention of harming anyone else. He promptly surrendered to the police. The Governor was rushed to the Polyclinic, but was pronounced dead by the doctors. Malik Qadri reportedly confessed to the crime, and without showing any sign of nervousness or remorse, he asserted that he was provoked into attacking the Governor on learning of his views about the blasphemy law, which Mr Taseer had called a black law. It should be recalled that Mr Taseer had launched a public campaign against what he believed was a misuse of the blasphemy law. And, as was his wont when espousing the causes he thought worth defending, he vehemently argued for amending it. Another instance was his advocacy of Kalabagh Dam, and being a highly respected leader of the PPP who had long standing with the party, he did not hesitate to diverge from its public stand of maintaining silence on this vital reservoir, and openly put across his views in support of it. In the case of the blasphemy law, he went too far, and even took up the cudgels on behalf of Aasia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death by a lower court under this law. Rather than letting the law take its course, he called a press conference in her house and openly demanded her release. The Governors assassination by one of his security guards and that too belonging to the polices Elite Force has raised several questions that investigators would have to probe. How did he manage to put himself on duty with the Governor while his name was not on the original list, and was there anyone else complicit in the crime? Who was responsible for screening him before being enlisted in the Elite Force that is charged with protecting the VIPs, and later keeping an eye on his conduct? Other questions would arise during the course of inquiry. Before answers to them are found, it would be unfair to put the blame on anyone else than him alone. Pointing fingers at the Punjab government implicit in the slogans raised against PML-N leadership by certain elements is hardly justified. It could best be termed an attempt to put a political spin on a murder apparently committed on grounds of religious convinctions. And this is not the first time such murders have taken place in the subcontinent. Politicising it would muddy the waters even further. It must be avoided at all costs, particularly in the present volatile political situation.