At a previous hearing Malik Mumtaz Qadri was charged with terrorism and the January 4 murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer.

More than 250 demonstrators rallied outside the Adiyala prison, where the hearing took place, in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. They shouted "Long live Qadri, Release Qadri!" an AFP reporter at the scene said.

The demonstrators carried the alleged killer's portrait and placards reading "We salute Qadri's courage".

They also approached the car of one of the judges and shouted "Friends of a blasphemer are traitors."

The ATC recorded statements from three witnesses, two policemen and a doctor who performed Taseer's post-mortem examination, before adjourning until March 5, Qadri's lawyer Shujaur Rehman told AFP.

Qadri has confessed to killing Taseer and said he objected to the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law, which mandates the death sentence for those convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H).

Human Rights groups say the law is exploited in cases of personal enmity.

The country's growing conservative religious right publicly praised Qadri for silencing a dangerous reformer.

But the killing appalled the tiny liberal elite, who interpreted it as a death knell for reform efforts.