A leading politician from Pakistan's ruling party was gunned down in a wealthy neighborhood of Islamabad on Tuesday by a member of his security detail after speaking out against the country's controversial blasphemy laws, an assassination that highlights the nation's struggle to contain extremism even among those close to the center of power.

Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most-populous province, and a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, died after a member of his security team fired multiple shots into his car at a shopping complex, police said.

His attacker, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, who surrendered to police, admitted he was angered by Mr. Taseer's opposition to the blasphemy laws, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told local television.

Mr. Taseer had become a leading opponent in recent weeks of a court decision in November to sentence a 45-year-old Christian farm laborer, Asia Bibi, to death for blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.

The case attracted international attention. Mr. Taseer had attacked the court's decision and recently had been urging supporters on Twitter to take to the streets in protest against the blasphemy laws. His opposition had been condemned by Islamist political parties.

Associated Press巴基斯坦旁遮普（Punjab）省省督萨尔曼•塔西尔（Salmaan Taseer）（右）与巴基斯坦基督徒Asia Bibi（左）

周二，巴基斯坦执政党的一位领导人在伊斯兰堡的一个繁华的集市里遭到一名护卫枪杀。这名领导人是在公开反对该国颇受争议的先知法之后遭致枪杀的。这起暗杀事件突显了在巴基斯坦，即使是在接近权力中心的地方遏制极端主义也存在困难。

巴国内政部长拉赫曼•马利克（Rehman Malik）告诉当地电视台，袭击者名叫马利克•穆塔兹•卡德里（Malik Mumtaz Qadri）。事发后他向警方自首，承认自己被塔西尔反对先知法的言论所激怒。

近几周来塔西尔是巴国的焦点人物，因为他公开反对巴国法院在2010年11月做出的一项判决，该判决打算判处45岁的农场工人Asia Bibi死刑。此人是一名基督徒，做出判决的理由是她亵渎先知穆罕默德。

此案引起了国际社会的关注。塔西尔公开抨击法院的决定，同时也呼吁在Twitter的支持者上街抗议先知法。他的反对言论遭到了伊斯兰各政党的谴责。