Pakistani militants said a suicide bombing at a court on Monday in which at least 10 people were killed was revenge for the hanging of a man convicted of the 2011 killing a prominent liberal politician who had called for reform of blasphemy laws.
The Pakistani Taliban’s Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack.
Group spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said in an emailed statement the bombing “was especially done as vengeance for the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri”.
“The Pakistani courts give decisions against the laws revealed by Allah, and convict and hang innocent people,” Ehsan said in his statement.
Qadri, a bodyguard-turned-assassin, was executed last week for killing Salman Taseer, the then governor of Punjab province, after he had called for reform of blasphemy laws that mandate death for insulting Islam or its prophet.
Police said the bomber had intended to enter the court in the northwestern town of Shabqadar, near the ethnic Pashtun region, and set off his explosives when guards challenged him.
Senior police official Sohail Khalid said two police personnel, as well as four women and two children were among at least 10 people killed. Nearly 30 people were wounded.
Human rights groups say the laws can be abused by people trying to settle scores or involved in feuds and members of Pakistan’s religious minorities are vulnerable to unfair treatment under the legislation.
The laws are at the heart of an ideological clash between reformers and religious conservatives in Pakistan.
Hard-line religious leaders have declared Qadri a hero and Ehsan said his faction would continue to attack courts.
