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A Haripur Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday announced its verdict in the Mashal Khan lynching case, with initial reports suggesting that one person had been handed a death sentence, five were sentenced to 25 years in jail, 25 others were given at least three years in jail, whereas 26 will be acquitted without punishment.
The ATC is closed to reporters and a copy of the verdict has not been issued yet. We will strive to corroborate the initial reports received from outside the courtroom as soon as more information is available.
Breakdown of sentences:
Prime accused Imran Ali, who had earlier confessed to shooting Mashal before a judicial magistrate, has been given the death sentence under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and fined Rs150,000.
Bilal Bakhsh, Fazal Razaq, Mujeebullah, Ashfaq Khan and Mudassir Bashir are the five accused handed 25 years in jail, BBC Urdureported.
Twenty five convicts were given two concurrent sentences.
They were handed three years in jail under Sections 297/148/149 of the PPC and ordered to pay a Rs50,000 fine.
Separately, the ATC handed them a sentence of one year in jail under Section 11-WW Anti-Terrorism Act and a fine of Rs50,000.
In case of non-payment of fine under either of the sentences, six months will be added to their sentences.
Both sentences will run concurrently, and the longest sentence will be counted as total time period of imprisonment for the 25 convicts.
The court said those acquitted did not play a role in the lynching of the Mardan university student.
The counsel for the defence said they would challenge the ATC's verdict on Thursday.
'Hope no one else suffers this way'
Speaking to the media outside the courtroom as the verdict was being read out, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered.
"We will consult our lawyers and see if we are satisfied with the verdict," Aimal said, adding: "My only appeal to the KP police is to arrest the rest of the suspects and bring them to justice as well."
Of the total 61 people accused ─ the majority of them students and university employees and a tehsil councillor belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ─ and charged in the first information report, 57 were arrested within a few days of the horrific lynching, while another one was arrested only last month.
Aimal said the family had not received any threats as the verdict was announced. He expressed satisfaction with security arrangements made for the family.
Extra security arrangements have been made due to the sensitivity of the case, with roads leading to jail closed off. The jail administration has also banned the entry of visitors, and provided security to Mashal's family at their residence.
"[PTI Chairman] Imran Khan had promised he would rename Swabi University after Mashal Khan, but that has yet to happen. We appeal to him to fulfil his promise," Aimal said.
"Mashal was not an ordinary person, he was a visionary," he added.
The family and lawyers of Iqbal Khan, Mashal's father, are hopeful that they will get justice. "The case is very strong. Police have provided strong evidence, including videos, of the incident," Fazl Khan, Iqbal's lawyer told DawnNews earlier.
Iqbal is in London, while Mashal's mother and sisters are in Swabi and will stay there due to security concerns.
The lynching of Mashal Khan
23-year-old Mashal Khan, a student of Mass Communications at Mardan's Abdul Wali Khan University, was beaten and shot to deathby an angry mob on April 13, 2017, after he was accused of blasphemy.
The lynching took place within the premises of the university and was recorded on video which later circulated on social media.
The brutal incident shocked the nation and sparked a debate over the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
The verdict in the case was reserved on January 27 after the court concluded the hearing of the case.
The prosecution had also presented video clips and pictures of Mashal's lynching in the ATC as evidence that the [suspects] were involved in his murder.
The court completed the hearing of the case in five months and 10 days.
Also read: Why they lynched Mashal Khan
JIT terms blasphemy allegations against Mashal as baseless
In June 2017, a 13-member joint investigation team — that was formed to investigate the murder — concluded in its report that the allegations of blasphemy against Mashal were unfounded and were used as a pretext to incite a mob against the slain student.
The JIT report had said that Mashal was murdered in line with a plan allegedly hatched by Sabir Mayar, the president of the Pakhtun Students Federation (PSF) and Ajmal, the president of the employees at AWKU, where Mashal was studying Mass Communication.
Mashal had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, the report had added.
Days before he was lynched by the mob, Mashal in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration.
The investigation revealed that illegal and criminal activities persisted in the university hostel and female students were also exploited in the university.
According to the report, Mayar viewed Mashal's stance against activities on campus to be a threat to the PSF.
The case regarding his murder was supposed to be heard in an ATC in Mardan, however, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) transferred it to a court in Haripur Jail on the request of Mashal's father who feared that his "influential adversaries" would try to sabotage the case proceedings.
The court started hearing the case in September last year after indicting 57 arrested suspects.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1387707
The ATC is closed to reporters and a copy of the verdict has not been issued yet. We will strive to corroborate the initial reports received from outside the courtroom as soon as more information is available.
Breakdown of sentences:
- Prime accused Imran Ali given death sentence
- 5 accused given 25 years in jail
- 25 accused given 3 years in jail
- 26 acquitted
- 61 people were charged in the FIR; 57 suspects were arrested
Prime accused Imran Ali, who had earlier confessed to shooting Mashal before a judicial magistrate, has been given the death sentence under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and fined Rs150,000.
Bilal Bakhsh, Fazal Razaq, Mujeebullah, Ashfaq Khan and Mudassir Bashir are the five accused handed 25 years in jail, BBC Urdureported.
Twenty five convicts were given two concurrent sentences.
They were handed three years in jail under Sections 297/148/149 of the PPC and ordered to pay a Rs50,000 fine.
Separately, the ATC handed them a sentence of one year in jail under Section 11-WW Anti-Terrorism Act and a fine of Rs50,000.
In case of non-payment of fine under either of the sentences, six months will be added to their sentences.
Both sentences will run concurrently, and the longest sentence will be counted as total time period of imprisonment for the 25 convicts.
The court said those acquitted did not play a role in the lynching of the Mardan university student.
The counsel for the defence said they would challenge the ATC's verdict on Thursday.
'Hope no one else suffers this way'
Speaking to the media outside the courtroom as the verdict was being read out, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered.
"We will consult our lawyers and see if we are satisfied with the verdict," Aimal said, adding: "My only appeal to the KP police is to arrest the rest of the suspects and bring them to justice as well."
Of the total 61 people accused ─ the majority of them students and university employees and a tehsil councillor belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ─ and charged in the first information report, 57 were arrested within a few days of the horrific lynching, while another one was arrested only last month.
Aimal said the family had not received any threats as the verdict was announced. He expressed satisfaction with security arrangements made for the family.
Extra security arrangements have been made due to the sensitivity of the case, with roads leading to jail closed off. The jail administration has also banned the entry of visitors, and provided security to Mashal's family at their residence.
"[PTI Chairman] Imran Khan had promised he would rename Swabi University after Mashal Khan, but that has yet to happen. We appeal to him to fulfil his promise," Aimal said.
"Mashal was not an ordinary person, he was a visionary," he added.
The family and lawyers of Iqbal Khan, Mashal's father, are hopeful that they will get justice. "The case is very strong. Police have provided strong evidence, including videos, of the incident," Fazl Khan, Iqbal's lawyer told DawnNews earlier.
Iqbal is in London, while Mashal's mother and sisters are in Swabi and will stay there due to security concerns.
The lynching of Mashal Khan
23-year-old Mashal Khan, a student of Mass Communications at Mardan's Abdul Wali Khan University, was beaten and shot to deathby an angry mob on April 13, 2017, after he was accused of blasphemy.
The lynching took place within the premises of the university and was recorded on video which later circulated on social media.
The brutal incident shocked the nation and sparked a debate over the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
The verdict in the case was reserved on January 27 after the court concluded the hearing of the case.
The prosecution had also presented video clips and pictures of Mashal's lynching in the ATC as evidence that the [suspects] were involved in his murder.
The court completed the hearing of the case in five months and 10 days.
Also read: Why they lynched Mashal Khan
JIT terms blasphemy allegations against Mashal as baseless
In June 2017, a 13-member joint investigation team — that was formed to investigate the murder — concluded in its report that the allegations of blasphemy against Mashal were unfounded and were used as a pretext to incite a mob against the slain student.
The JIT report had said that Mashal was murdered in line with a plan allegedly hatched by Sabir Mayar, the president of the Pakhtun Students Federation (PSF) and Ajmal, the president of the employees at AWKU, where Mashal was studying Mass Communication.
Mashal had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, the report had added.
Days before he was lynched by the mob, Mashal in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration.
The investigation revealed that illegal and criminal activities persisted in the university hostel and female students were also exploited in the university.
According to the report, Mayar viewed Mashal's stance against activities on campus to be a threat to the PSF.
The case regarding his murder was supposed to be heard in an ATC in Mardan, however, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) transferred it to a court in Haripur Jail on the request of Mashal's father who feared that his "influential adversaries" would try to sabotage the case proceedings.
The court started hearing the case in September last year after indicting 57 arrested suspects.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1387707
