Peshawar ATC Announces Verdict In Mashal Khan Murder Case

Mahnoor Sheikh (@mahnoorsheikh03) Published March 21, 2019 | 12:25 PM

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) councillor Arif Khan and Asad have been sentenced to life.

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 21st March, 2019) An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday sentenced two men to life imprisonment in Mashal Khan murder case.

The court released two accused while awarded life imprisonment to two others. Five other persons have been sentenced for 25 years.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) councillor Arif Khan and Asad Katlang were convicted after being proven guilty in the 2017 murder of a Abdul Wali Khan University student in Mardan.

The ATC acquitted two suspects Sabir Mayar and Izhar Joni for lack of evidence.

At least 61 accused were arrested in the case.

Mashal Khan, a mass communication student at Mardan's Abdul Wali Khan University, was lynched to death by a mob of angry students on April 13, 2017 over rumors that he and his friends committed blasphemy.

On February 8 last year, ATC in Haripur had sentenced accused Imran to death and five others to 25 years in jail. ATC Jugde Fazal Khan Subhan read out the verdicts against each of the 57 men accused in the case one-by-one.

The court had also acquitted 26 people in the case. After Mashal's murder, Supreme Court of Pakistan's chief justice took notice and ordered a judicial inquiry. For this purpose, a JIT was formed to investigate what led to the gruesome murder.

The JIT report had revealed that the lynching Mashal who was falsely accused of blasphemy was organized by other students from his own secular political group who viewed him as a rival and faculty members who resented his criticism of the university.

The report also revealed that officials from the university administration were also involved in his murder. The report also stated that there were no solid proofs found about blasphemy committed by Mashal and his friends.The brutality of the attack, recorded on a mobile phone camera, had shocked the public and led to widespread condemnation, including from prominent clerics.