Salman Taseer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Salman Khan
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سلمان تاثیر
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| 26th Governor of Punjab (Pakistan) | |
| In office 15 May 2008 – 4 January 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Lt Gen Khalid Maqbool |
| Succeeded by | Sardar Latif Khosa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 May 1944 Simla, Punjab, British India (Now Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India) |
| Died | 4 January 2011 (aged 66) Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani British |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party |
| Spouses | Yasmeen Sehgal Amna Taseer (?-2011) (till his death) |
| Domestic partner | Tavleen Singh |
| Children | 7 including Shahbaz and Aatish Taseer |
| Parents | M. D. Taseer (father) Bilquis Taseer (mother) |
| Relatives | Alys Faiz (maternal aunt) Salima Hashmi (maternal cousin) Muneeza Hashmi (maternal cousin) |
Salman Taseer (Urdu: سلمان تاثیر), born on May 31, 1944, and passed away on January 4, 2011, was an important Pakistani businessman and politician. He served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until 2011.
Taseer was a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s. He was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1988. Later, he became the governor of Punjab in 2008. During his time as governor, he spoke out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws. He even asked for a pardon for Asia Bibi, who was accused under these laws.
Salman Taseer was born in Shimla, which was part of British India at the time. He studied in Lahore and then in London. He started several businesses, including a financial company and the Worldcall Group. He also launched media companies like Business Plus and Daily Times.
On January 4, 2011, Salman Taseer was sadly killed in Islamabad. His bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, was responsible. Qadri disagreed with Taseer's views on the blasphemy laws. Taseer's death was a very sad event in Pakistan's history. His son, Shahbaz Taseer, was later kidnapped but was safely released in 2016.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Salman Taseer was born on May 31, 1944, in Shimla, British India. His family had a mixed background. His father's family was from Kashmir, and his mother was English.
His father, Muhammad Din Taseer, was a professor. His mother, Christobel George, became Bilqis after marrying his father.
Salman's father passed away in 1950 when Salman was only six years old. His mother raised him and his two sisters. They lived in a simple way.
Taseer went to St. Anthony's School in Lahore. After that, he studied to become a Chartered Accountant in London.
Family and Relationships
Salman Taseer was married twice. With his first wife, Yasmeen Sehgal, he had a son named Shaan and two daughters, Sara and Sanam. His second wife was Aamna Taseer. They had two sons, Shahbaz and Shehryar, and a daughter, Shehrbano.
He also had a son named Aatish (born in 1980) with Indian journalist Tavleen Singh. Aatish later became a writer and journalist.
Salman Taseer's Political Journey
Taseer began his political journey as a student in the late 1960s. He joined Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He supported Bhutto and even wrote a book about him called Bhutto: A political biography (1980). He was also a trusted helper for Bhutto's daughter, Benazir Bhutto.
In the 1988 elections, Taseer became a member of the Punjab Assembly for Lahore. He later served as a temporary minister in 2007. On May 15, 2008, he was chosen to be the Governor of Punjab by the PPP government.
His Business Ventures
Early in his career, Taseer started several companies that helped with accounting and business advice. In 1995, he created the First Capital Securities Corporation (FCSC). This company helped people buy and sell stocks.
In 1996, Taseer founded the Worldcall group. This group started with a payphone network and grew into a big telecom company. In 2008, a company from Oman called Omantel bought a large part of Worldcall. Taseer also owned an English news TV channel in Pakistan called Business Plus. He also owned the first children's channel, Wikkid Plus, and published the English newspaper Daily Times.
His Tragic Assassination
Salman Taseer was known for speaking out about Pakistan's blasphemy law. He had given interviews where he shared his views and supported Asia Bibi, who was accused under this law.
On January 4, 2011, Salman Taseer was killed in Islamabad. He was at Kohsar Market when his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, shot him. Qadri believed that Taseer's support for the rights of women and religious minorities was an insult to Islam. Just hours before he died, Taseer had shared a poem about not fearing outside dangers, but rather the beauty within that could cause harm.
The next day, many people attended his funeral in Lahore. Important figures like Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were there. Taseer was buried at a military area in Lahore.
After the murder, over 500 religious leaders supported the killing. They asked people not to attend Taseer's funeral. When the assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was brought to court, some of his supporters threw rose petals at him. On October 1, 2011, Qadri was sentenced to death for the murder. He was executed on February 29, 2016.
