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Mashal Khan, a journalism student at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, Pakistan, was killed by a large group of students over an allegedly heated debate. A heated debate over religion turned violent after students start accusing him of blasphemy against Islam. This turned the atmosphere hostile and the mob charged towards the University hostel where Mashal Khan was. The mob was so large that they broke inside the university hostel even after the gate was locked by the warden and unleashed their anger on Mashal. Blasphemy is punishable in Pakistan under several laws. Though there haven’t been any police complaints or police record against Mashal for saying any controversial thing against religion in the past, he was critical of political and orthodox systems. His close friends and relatives describe him as a devotee of Islam with curious mind, who used to ask a lot of questions over religion. His ransacked university hostel room still has posters of Karl Marx and Che Guevara still hanging on the walls and a quote “be curious, crazy and mad.”
Mashal Khan, A Youth With A Promising Future
Mashal was severely injured and bloodied, gunshots were fired at him – shots that must have killed him within moments. But even that didn’t stop the mob: in a video footage of the incident, the lifeless body of Mashal is seen lying on the floor, surrounded by the bloodthirsty mob. His body bore marks of severe torture. The mob could be seen kicking and jumping on his dead body, beating it with wooden sticks. The presence of more than 20 policemen did not change the outcome of this horrific incident. According to the policemen, they were outnumbered by the mob and there was nothing that they could have done.
