Killer says Pak minister was 'spreading evil'

ISLAMABAD: A Muslim cleric arrested for killing a female minister in Pakistan told interrogators he was fired by a passion to purge society of women who defy Islamic customs, police said Wednesday.

Mohammad Sarwar was detained minutes after shooting Punjab provincial minister and women's rights campaigner Zilla Huma Usman, 35, at a public meeting on Tuesday in the central city of Gujranwala.

"I have no regrets. I killed her out of the conviction that she was leading an un-Islamic life and spreading an evil influence on other women," he told police interrogators in custody, according to a police source.

Witnesses said Sarwar approached the minister as she was about to give a speech to party activists then took out his pistol and blasted her in the head.

Officials described him after the killing as a "fanatic" with no affiliation to any extremist group. Police said in a statement Tueseday that he was opposed to the involvement of women in politics.

He was previously held in 2002 in connection with the killing of four prostitutes, but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Police said he gave Koran lessons to children at a local mosque.

Usman was a supporter of President Pervez Musharraf, and backed the pro-US ruler's policy of "enlightened moderation" designed to tackle extremism in Pakistani society.