In a very predictable turn of events in the murder case of university student Mashal Khan, head of the government prosecuting team Zafar Abbas has quit the lawyers team currently prosecuting 57 accused in an anti-terrorist court (ATC) established inside Haripur Jail.
According to details, Abbas had earlier submitted an application with the ATC Judge Fazal-e-Subhan, seeking his permission to quit the prosecuting team. The application was approved on Monday, just two days before the 10th hearing of the case to be held on Wednesday.
Reliable sources said that Abbas decided to quit the case after allegedly being threatened by relatives of some of the influential accused being presently tried for Mashal’s murder. Sources said that apart from the threats, other reasons also influenced Abbas’s decision.
During the nine hearings of the case, the court had recorded statements of prosecution witnesses, including those of two magistrates. One of them had later changed his statement given to police in connection with the case.
The responsibility of appointing a new head of the prosecution team now falls on the shoulders of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, was attacked by fellow students on the campus in April and lynched by fellow students who accused the deceased of committing blasphemy. Police inquiry into the matter later revealed that the blasphemy charges were entirely fake, and that other factors were in play during the incident.
Police have so far arrested 57 accused, while four others are still at large. Meanwhile, bail pleas filed by the accused earlier were rejected by the court on Monday.
It merits mention here that the case was transferred from Mardan to Haripur citing security reasons and to ensure protection for the family of the deceased.
