Mashal’s father wants lynching case transferred to PHC

Demands probe into Abdul Wali Khan University affairs

PESHAWAR: Expressing satisfaction over the report of the joint investigation team (JIT) on the murder of his son Mashal Khan, Muhammad Iqbal on Monday asked the government to put the names of all the present and former employees of the Abdul Wali Khan University on the Exit Control List (ECL).

He said that those involved in his son’s murder were influential and under the prevailing circumstances he cannot appear in the courts in Mardan and therefore the case should be transferred to the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

Speaking at a news conference at Peshawar Press Club, Mashal Khan’s father asked the provincial government to provide him legal counsel at government expense so that he could fight his case in the court.

He added that he and his family members didn’t feel secure and would be unable to attend court proceedings in Mardan to which most of the accused belonged.Prominent lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi and political activist Dr Said Alam Mehsud were present on the occasion.

Mashal Khan was lynched on April 13, 2017 in the Garden Campus of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan by a mob of fellow students, university employees and outsiders who accused him of committing blasphemy.

His father Mohammad Iqbal, commonly known as Iqbal Shair because he happens to be a poet, argued that the report compiled by JIT on the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan had proved that his son was innocent and was not involved in blasphemy.

“The only sin of my son was that he wanted the university to become a good educational institution of the province. It offended some of the influential people at the university who conspired to eliminate him,” Mohammad Iqbal said.

“I cannot afford to hire a lawyer and am therefore asking the provincial government to provide me a lawyer at state expense. If my request isn’t accepted, I will ask the federal government for financial help to pursue the case,” he said.

He demanded investigation into the record of the Abdul Wali Khan University to fix responsibility as to who undermined the university. He said those who found guilty should be awarded punishment.

He demanded probe into the financial embezzlement and appointments against different posts at the university, adding that Mashal Khan’s sacrifice would go waste if the situation was not rectified.

Muhammad Iqbal appealed to all the politicians including elected representatives and members of the Parliament to cooperate with him in seeking justice.