Governor Punjab Salman Taseer on Tuesday died in an assassination attempt in Islamabad.

According to sources, Taseer had been shot and wounded near his Islamabad home in the leafy F6 sector and close to Kohsar market. He was shot dead by his own guard.

The attacker was an officer of elite force. The governor was severely injured in the attack. He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries.

22 bullets were fired at him. Five other people were wounded as other security personnel responded to the attack.

After the incident, police cordoned off the area. Police have arrested at least six people from the site.

The attacker identified as Mumtaz Qadri surrendered himself to the police.

The assassin, "confessed that he killed the governor himself because he had called the blasphemy law a black law," said the interior minister Rehman Malik.

"He has confessed his crime and surrendered his gun to police after the attack," he added.

Taseer has recently spoken out against the country's blasphemy law.

Salmaan Taseer was a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He was appointed to the post of governor Punjab on 15 May 2008.

Taseer was also the chairman and CEO of the First Capital and Worldcall Group.