Family of Mardan university student demand justice

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MARDAN: The lynching of Mashal Khan by an angry mob at Abdul Wali Khan University did not just extinguish a human life but also a myriad of dreams that lived within him and his family.

Speaking to Geo News, Mashal’s father and sister demanded justice for his murder and called the lynching an act of terrorism.

Mashal’s 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, Mashal’s sister said 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 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.”

“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.

'He always respected religion, focused on education'

Mashal’s grieving father 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],” Iqbal said.

Earlier today, Iqbal had demanded justice from the authorities for the horrendous incident and stressed that his son had always respected religion.

"Mashal used to talk about the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) 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, who was enrolled at Abdul Wali Khan University's Mass Communication department, was lynched by an enraged mob over blasphemy allegations at campus premises on Thursday.

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Police has registered two separate cases against 20 suspects and arrested eight suspects over the incident.

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