Followers of Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed for assassinating liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011, gathered in thousands on Wednesday at his 'shrine' in Islamabad, to commemorate his death.
This comes after the government said that it would bar organisations from staging rallies commemorating the hanging of Qadri.
Twitter was flooded with pictures and videos of people singing and chanting praises for Qadri near his tomb.
Secunder Kermani, who reports for BBC Pakistan tweeted about the events that unfolded near Qadri's shrine, which was swarmed by his supporters.
At the "shrine" dedicated to Mumtaz Qadri where a couple of thousand have gathered to commemorate his death... pic.twitter.com/RwOJeFjiQE
— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) March 1, 2017
Today at the gathering for Mumtaz Qadri - I saw an on duty policeman make dua (pray) for him along with the crowds he was watching over!
— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) March 1, 2017
Another Pakistani journalist Abid Hussain reported on Twitter that roughly a crowd of five-seven thousand was present at the shrine to mark his first death anniversary.
Roughly a crowd of 5k to 7k was present at the shrine of Mumtaz Qadri on the final day of Urs to mark his first death anniversary. pic.twitter.com/7asU7lhPhi
— Abid Hussain (@abidhussayn) March 1, 2017
The blatant existence of the sanctuary is a matter of great sensitivity in Pakistan, where his hardcore supporters have taken it upon themselves.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)