The killing was the highest-profile assassination of a politician in Pakistan since the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.
Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was a high profile member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower.
Taseer was vocal in a number of issues, including speaking out against the blasphemy law in the country in recent days. Islamists in Pakistan have advocated closing the controversial law and those who oppose it.
The police officer Iftikhar Mohammad Taseer said he was shot by one of their own protectors of elite security forces after reaching Khosa Market, a shopping center in Islamabad popular with Westerners and rich Pakistanis. The suspected assailant was taken into custody, Iftikhar said.
Five other people were injured as other security personnel returned fire.
Another police official, Iqbal Hasan, said that a couple of witnesses told police that as the governor left his vehicle, a man of his security team fired two shots at him. Taseer then fell, while other police officers shot the attacker.
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