Salman Taseer had his opinions, some incendiary and others prescient. At the weekend, he offered one of his more trenchant comments. "What is the alternative to PPP?" the late governor of Punjab province wrote on Twitter. Who other than the Pakistan People's Party "can hold the federation together"?
Those questions may soon be answered. As Mr Taseer was buried yesterday, only days after allies threatened to desert the PPP's coalition, Pakistan faces an ideological crisis that threatens its democratic fabric.
After the murder of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, it is deplorable enough that Mr Taseer, another senior PPP official, was assassinated. That his own bodyguard murdered him, one of the nation's strongest voices of tolerance, shows how powerful the voices of hatred have become.
It is unknown whether the assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, acted alone or at the behest of others. As with Bhutto's assassination, there are suspicious circumstances, including the question of why Qadri was able to fire so many rounds at the governor before surrendering. As The National reported yesterday, early speculation focused on Mr Taseer's opposition to the country's blasphemy law.
Demonstrations in favour of the blasphemy law have seen effigies of Mr Taseer burned. Now, after his death, the country is bracing for further unrest, with steel barricades surrounding parts of Lahore and protests reverberating across the Punjab.
In truth, Mr Taseer had his enemies besides just supporters of the blasphemy law. He had amassed his wealth through media, telecoms, finance and property: an all-too-common collection of influence that distorts Pakistan's politics. His often brash personal attacks - he once called a newspaper editor a "retard" - also created foes.
But his work should have been met with equally bold words, not bullets. The causes he stood for deserve greater attention because of his death. One such cause, Pakistan's blasphemy law, has been abused by extremists to further marginalise the very groups Pakistan is duty bound to protect. What, after all, is more sacrilegious than killing in the name of Islam?
As the Pakistani scholar Javed Ghamidi put it, Muslim history is full of vocal disagreements, but there is a proper way, an etiquette or adab, to resolve them. That way is now vital to restore peace. Pakistanis have recourse to it; now, more than ever, they need to make use of it.