The killer of a Glasgow shopkeeper is becoming a cult figure among extremists in Pakistan.

Tanveer Ahmed was last year jailed for at least 27 years for the "brutal, barbaric and horrific" murder of Asad Shah.

The Bradford taxi driver had believed Mr Shah - who belonged to the persecuted Ahmadi sect - had committed blasphemy by claiming to be a prophet in a series of incoherent youtube videos.

However, Ahmed's crime has inspired a rising number of Pakistanis who see him as a "defender of Islam" for having killed someone they believe disrespected the Prophet Muhammed.

Some 400 supporters on Monday gathered outside his family's home in the city of Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for a rally in his honour, the BBC revealed. The crowd, the broadcaster said, chanted slogans praising Ahmed as "brave" and "courageous".

One man attending said: "Because of what he did, the whole of Pakistan knows who he is." Another, using the term Ghazi or warrior, said: "You should close your eyes, raise your hand towards the sky and pray, making Ghazi Tanveer your representative." he said.

Ahmed, 32, had raised his profile by making a series of audio messages to extremists in Pakistan by telephone from his Scottish jail. He has now been banned from using the phone. He is not even allowed to call his wife.

The rally at Ahmed's family home was organised by the anti-blasphemy group called Labaik Ya Rasool Ullah (Here I am present, o Prophet of Allah).

A hardline cleric called Khadim Rizvi, of Labaik Ya Rasool Ullah, has previously praised Ahmed at another rally, in Karachi. Rizvi has also published Ahmed's telephone messages on his Facebook page.

Rizvi's group has also championed another killer - Mumtaz Qadri - who in 2011 shot dead a high profile Pakistani politician for trying to reform the country's blasphemy laws. Qadri has supporters in Glasgow. Last year the imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, Habib ur Rehman, was revealed by The Herald to have called Qadri a "true Muslim" in an exchange on messaging service Whatsapp. Qadri was executed. His funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people in Pakistan.

Blasphemy can be punishable by death in Pakistan. Some Pakistani Muslims see Ahmadis as blasphemers because they believe in prophets after Mohammed. Ahmadis in Scotland have become increasingly alarmed over events in Pakistan and have accused some mainstream Sunni Muslims of spreading bigotry from the subcontinent in to Europe. Mr Shah, however, was experimenting with his own beliefs and came close to being expelled from the Ahmadi community, although friends defended him, saying he was unwell.

Rizvi, Ahmed and Qadri all come from Sufi sect of Sunni Islam rarely seen as being extreme and usually ery critical of violent jihadism. Many Sufi scholars and preachers reject Rizvi's hardline on blasphemy.

Police Scotland helped the Scottish Prison Service to investigate phone messages made by Ahmed from jail. Prison authorities have the right to listen to all calls made by inmates.

Rizvi was not allowed to go to Mirpur for the rally in support of Ahmed. A BBC correspondent, however, interviewed him last month. Rizvi told the reporter had had spoken to Ahmed on the phone

"every couple of weeks". He added: "I'm proud of the fact that we are in contact - and this pride will remain until the day of judgement and beyond."