Pak arrest 22 over Taseer's killing

ISLAMABAD: A total of 22 people, including many policemen, have been arrested by Pakistani authorities over the killing of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, amid reports that a top official had warned about the extremist leanings of the assassin of the outspoken PPP leader.The joint investigation team probing Taseer's killing yesterday arrested two officials, who assigned Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the policeman responsible for gunning down Taseer yesterday, to the Governor's security detail and eight more personnel of the Elite Force, local media reported today.Three more policemen from Rawalpindi,including an officer, were arrested this morning.Police detainedQadri's five brothers and father yesterday and three more of his relatives, whowere apparently aware of his plan to kill the Governor were arrestedtoday.Meanwhile, 'Geo News' reported quoting unnamed sources assaying that Rawalpindi's former regional police chief Nasir Khan Durrani hadnoted in a file that Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the policeman who gunned downTaseer yesterday, and 10 other personnel had hardline religious or extremistleanings.Durrani noted in the file that Qadri and the others shouldnot be assigned to provide security to VIPs.Despite this alert,Qadri was deputed to guard Taseer on at least five occasions in the past twoyears, the channel reported.Qadri joined the Punjab Constabulary in2003 and was deputed in 2008 to the Elite Force, an anti-terrorism unit thatguards VIPs.A police officer told the Dawn newspaper that Qadri wasdeployed to guard Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on at least oneoccasion.The assassin's name was not on the duty roster of policemenassigned to guard the Governor till Monday night.Qadri's name wasincluded at his own request yesterday morning, Interior Minister Rehman Maliktold the media.Qadri, 26, was also removed from the Special Branchfor being a "security risk" and had told several of his colleagues of his planto kill Taseer for opposing the controversial blasphemy law, Geo Newsreported.Investigators plan to question the officials, who recruitedQadri in the Elite Force.Qadri laid down his assault rifle andsurrendered moments after he shot Taseer at the posh Kohsar Market in the heartof Islamabad yesterday.