Pakistan has hanged the former police bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri who shot dead Punjab’s governor over his opposition to blasphemy laws, officials say. Mumtaz Qadri shot dead Salman Taseer in Islamabad in 2011, a high profile murder that shocked the country.

But he was hailed as a hero by some Islamist groups and thousands of hardliner activists protested to show their support for Qadri at the time. Security forces have been put on alert following the execution.