Omar Waraich

By Imran Khan in Asia on January 4th, 2011
An outspoken secularist, Taseer's reputation was of a tough man willing to do whatever it took to succed [Reuters]

It was my friend Omar Waraich who introduced me to Salman Taseer for the first time. Before that all I knew was that he was one of Pakistan's more enigmatic politicians who I had seen on the television.

A Pakistan People's Party loyalist who had suffered under rival regimes, he was - following the party's election victory - back in the land he loved.

But the governorship of Punjab is a fraught post, particularly if you belong to a ruling party that does not control the province. Nawaz Sharif, the former Pakistani prime minister, and his brother hold real control of the province, and they were not fans of Taseer.

Taseer, however, was a man by all accounts not afraid of a challenge. This was a man who built a business empire under the toughest conditions.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 28th, 2009
Photo by AFP

It was an extraordinary speech. After months of silence, Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, finally spoke out.

It was the anniversary of the death of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, who died on December 27, 2007 on the campaign trail.

The speech was at Naudero, the spiritual home of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh Province, southwest Pakistan.
 
The president was blunt. He spoke of "non-state actors" trying to break up Pakistan. He spoke of sacrifice.

"We have shed our blood for building institutions, know how they have been built. We know what will happen when such institutions clash and we don't want to see such a day," he said.

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