Salman Taseer murder: Pakistan hangs Mumtaz Qadri

Pakistan has hanged the former police bodyguard 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 hardline activists protested to show their support for Qadri at the time.

Security forces have been put on alert following the execution.

Just hours after the hanging, angry supporters took to the streets to denounce the execution, reports the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Pakistan.

Prison officials said Qadri was hanged at 0435 local time at Adiala jail near the capital Islamabad.

'Religious duty'Qadri, who had trained as an elite police commando and was assigned to Taseer as his bodyguard, shot the politician in broad daylight at an Islamabad market in January 2011.

He later claimed that it was his religious duty to kill Taseer, who was an outspoken critic of the harsh blasphemy law and sought liberal reforms for the legislation.

The case rocked Pakistan which has seen Islamist groups grow in influence in recent years.