Her arrest however provoked anger among some of the country’s senior leaders and revived memories of the murder of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in January last year for his support of a Christian woman sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam — a breach of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. He was murdered by one of his own bodyguards who was later hailed as a hero by lawyers. Pakistan’s minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian, was murdered in his car a few months later because he supported a repeal of the Blasphemy act. Mr Taseer’s son was kidnapped by militants in August last year.