Massive protests in Pak against killing of student over blasphemy
Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, was lynched by students for allegedly ‘publishing blasphemous content online’.
ISLAMABAD: Protests led by civil society organisations were held in different parts of Pakistan to condemn the killing of university student Mashal Khan for allegedly “publishing blasphemous content online”.
Demonstrations took place in Zaida village of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday as Mashal Khan was laid to rest, The News International said.
The 23-year-old journalism student from Abdul Wali Khan University was stripped, shot, thrown from the second floor of the hostel and brutally beaten to death by a mob on Thursday.
At least 20 persons were arrested in connection with the incident.
In Peshawar, demonstrators chanted slogans against the university administration and police.
According to the protesters in Lahore, it was an unprecedented incident in the history of Pakhtuns.
They demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident that drew condemnation from across the country. Mashal Khan’s family insisted that he was innocent. “I want justice as my son was innocent. I cannot even imagine that he will have committed blasphemy,” said Muhammad Iqbal, his father.
About 1,000 people, mostly relatives, friends and co-villagers attended his funeral prayer at the main Eidgah in the village.
However, none of his fellow students or university officials attended the funeral.
His sister told the media that it was a “conspiracy against my brother and it must be unearthed”.
Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) Mardan President Himayatullah Mayar urged his party members not to comment on the killing until the issue was probed.