Pakistan's Punjab governor Salman Tasser killed by his guard

ISLAMABAD: The governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province was shot dead on Tuesday by one of his guards in the Pakistani capital, police said.

The killing was the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the slaying of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December of 2007.

Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer was a high-profile member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower.

Taseer was vocal on a range of subjects, including speaking out against the country's blasphemy law in recent days. Islamists in Pakistan have defended the controversial law and slammed those who oppose it.

Police official Mohammad Iftikhar said Taseer was gunned down by one of his own elite security force protectors after he reached Khosar Market, a shopping center in Islamabad popular with Westerners and wealthy Pakistanis. The suspected assailant was taken into custody, Iftikhar said.

Five other people were wounded as other security personnel responded to the attack.

Another police official, Hasan Iqbal, said a pair of witnesses told the police that as the governor was leaving his vehicle, a man from his security squad fired two shots at him. Taseer then fell, while other police officials fired on the attacker.

It was unclear if the attacker was wounded.