Petition in SC seeks suo motu on Mardan lynching incident

ISLAMABAD: A petition submitted in the Supreme Court calls upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the Mardan lynching incident.

Mashal Khan a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan was lynched by an angry mob on the premises of the University on Thursday after being accused of blasphemy.

The petition submitted by a member of civil society states that the incident is a violation of basic human rights and an incident like this within the university is a cause of concern for society.

It is further stated in the petition that those involved in the murder of the student be brought to justice.

A policeman gestures as he stands at the entry of Abdul Wali Khan University where Mashal Khan was killed on Thursday – Reuters

Case registered

Two separate cases have been registered and police have arrested eight suspects in connection with the killing of Mashal Khan.

Mardan District Police Officer Dr Mian Saeed told Geo News on Friday the cases were registered under clauses 427, 297, 302 and 148 of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

He said that 20 suspects, who were identified from videos of the gruesome incident, have been nominated in the cases registered at the Sheikh Maltoon police station.

The suspects included a councillor and four university employees besides students.

Police has formed three teams to arrest the remaining suspects, the DPO said.

The official added that 59 people have been detained over the incident and are being interrogated.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayers for the slain student, identified as Mohammad Mashal Khan, were offered at Zaida village in Swabi district on Friday morning.

‘He always respected religion, focused on education’

Mashal’s grieving father spoke with Geo News and said his deceased son had always respected religion and was focused primarily on his education.

"Mashal used to talk about the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) with family members at home. His prime focus was on education," the father, a local poet, said.

"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 lamented.

"Being a father, I want justice," he demanded from the authorities.

‘Law of the jungle can’t prevail’

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan whose party is in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa condemned the incident and called for action against those responsible for the murder.

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Imran Khan urged for strict action against the culprits and said ‘law of the jungle’ cannot prevail.

The PTI chief also said he was in touch with IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the condemnable incident.

Hope police, students involved are treated like murderers

The daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former President Asif Ali Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari took to twitter the condemn the incident in Mardan.

Bakhtawar tweeted that no one has the right to take a life and it was condemned in every religion. “Hope the students and police involved are treated like the murderers they are.”