- PTI chief orders strict action, says law of jungle can’t prevail
- Family shares victim’s personal life, demands justice
- FIR registered against 20 in Mardan lynching
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak has said that a judicial inquiry will be launched into the Mardan incident in which Muhammad Mashal Khan, a student of the Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU), was lynched by an enraged mob over ‘blasphemy’ allegations while funeral prayers of the slain student were offered at the Zaida village in Swabi district on Friday morning.
The university administration, in a bizarre move, has decided to probe three students for alleged ‘blasphemous’ activity, according to a notification. Of the three students named in the notification, one was killed and another severely injured after being brutally assaulted by an enraged mob a day earlier. Posted on official website, the notification, dated April 13, did not mention any details of the incident or a condemnation of the student’s killing, even though university’s provost Fayyaz Ali Shah said it had been issued after the lynching.
“I (the assistant registrar) am directed to notify that an inquiry committee has been constituted to probe into the matter of ‘blasphemous’ activities carried out by three students of the Department of Journalism,” the notification read. “Further, the mentioned students are hereby rusticated and their entry into the premises of all campuses is banned until further orders,” it added.
When asked why the administration had also rusticated the deceased student, Shah said: “it is a ‘clerical’ error which is being revised.” Mashal, a 23-year-old student, had been killed and another student, Abdullah, seriously injured a day earlier by a vigilante mob for allegedly publishing ‘blasphemous’ content online, local police had said.
The lynching did not just extinguish a human life but also a myriad of dreams that lived within him and his family. Mashal’s father and sister demanded justice for his murder and called the lynching an act of terrorism. The grieving sister spoke about how her brother had always dared to dream big and inspired her to achieve greatness in life.
Recalling his last words to her before his death, she said that she had asked him what he wanted to achieve in life. “My goal is to win a gold medal, what is yours?” she had asked him before they exchanged goodbyes. “I want to win a Nobel Prize,” he had told her, she recalled, her face stricken with grief. She said that her deceased brother had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and education.
“Mashal was always studying, always talking about the importance of education. He used to say life is not worth living without an education,” she said. “He was my brother, my best friend as well as my teacher. He taught me what even my teachers could not teach. He used to say, ‘I don’t care what others think about me, I will rely on my knowledge and education,’” she reminisced.
“He always told me to focus on my education so that I could be an independent woman. He was very broad-minded. What they did to him, it should never have happened. This is terrorism,” she said as she urged for justice for her brother. Mashal’s father Muhammad Iqbal, a local poet, said his son was very obedient and always took good care of his family.
“He was very tolerant and patient, he never caused us any grief,” he said. “He was a journalist and used to talk about justice. His ideas were modern, according to today’s scientific and technological progress,” he said. Earlier today, Iqbal had demanded justice from the authorities for the horrendous incident and stressed that his son had always respected religion.
Speaking to the media, the chief minister said that people cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands, adding that this was a sensitive and important matter. “I spoke to the police chief last night and this morning as well. He is sending a report. We plan on launching a judicial inquiry,” he said.
He said that the police were not allowed inside the gates of the university, and that they arrived after they were called by the varsity administration. But the entire incident happened within 10 to 15 minutes, he said. Earlier, speaking in the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Khattak said that nobody had the right to take the law into their own hands.
“I have been in contact with the police, and according to reports so far, nothing has emerged until now to suggest that he [Mashal Khan] committed blasphemy. We have taken out the student’s mobile record, and it does not show any text or any such thing,” he said. He said that the inquiry was underway and that he cannot claim any anti-religion act took place until the authorities have something solid.
He said that this could be malice at somebody’s part or an attempt by an individual to provoke the mob to attack. “This is a huge injustice. I think this is barbarity. If our young generation starts committing murder when provoked, then I think our country will stray further towards the wrong path,” the chief minister said.
“A proper inquiry should be carried out and deserving punishment be given so that nobody can take such a step in the future. We should move forward by making this an example,” he urged. Through Twitter, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the lynching incident and called for action against those responsible for the murder.
He urged for strict action against the culprits, saying law of the jungle cannot prevail. He also said that he was in touch with the provincial police chief over the condemnable incident. “I am in touch with the police chief since last night on condemnable lynching of student in Mardan. Firm action necessary. Law of the jungle can’t prevail,” he tweeted.
“Mashal used to talk about the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the family members at home. His prime focus was on education. Everyone here is a witness to this, he always respected religion. He was a critic of the system, he rarely spoke, just used to stay silent mostly,” the father had said.
Mashal lived in room 73 of hostel 1 and once you enter inside the walls have writing all over. Allah is the greatest and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the messenger of God has been written prominently. The door of the room was broken by the angry mob in order to get to Mashal who was sitting inside. The student was dragged from the room and taken outside where he was assaulted and killed.
On Friday, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered by police against members of a lynch mob that brutally assaulted two university students ─ Mashal and Abdullah – killing one and injuring another. The FIR has been lodged in Sheikh Maltoon police station against 20 suspects, of whom eight have been arrested, Mardan District Police Officer Dr Mian Saeed said.
The suspects were identified through video footage of the incident, while the police have formed three teams to arrest the remaining suspects, he stated. On April 13, the two students were targeted by a violent mob on campus premises, that killed Mashal and injured Abdullah for allegedly publishing ‘blasphemous content’ online, according to the police.
