JUI-F leader questions verdict in Mashal case

MARDAN: The Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) provincial Secretary General Maulana Shujaul Mulk has claimed that justice has not been done in the Mashal Khan murder case.

“The decision was made without proof,” he said while speaking to a gathering at the Rashaki interchange on the Motorway to welcome the acquitted persons in the Mashal case. 

A large number of activists of the JUI-F and other religious parties, supporters and relatives were present to welcome the acquitted persons.

They chanted slogans terming Mashal Khan as a traitor and blasphemer. They also chanted slogans against the sympathizers of Mashal Khan’s family. 

JUI-F district general secretary Maulana Amanat Shah, Jumaat-e-Islami (JI) Mardan district president Dr Attaur Rehman and others also addressed the gathering.

The speakers declared the acquitted persons as ‘ghazis’ and congratulated them on their release. They said that “other ghazis” would be also released soon.

“I had predicted at a public meeting soon after the incident that Mashal’s father Muhammad Iqbal will get the visa of England and other countries. And my prediction proved right,” boasted Shujaul Mulk who was elected MNA from Mardan in the 2002 general election.

He saluted student Imran, who was awarded death sentence in the Mashal murder case, and his fellows for their “courage.”

Shujaul Mulk maintained that they cannot allow anyone to commit blasphemy on this holy land.

“The government is afraid of the US, Mashals and Malalas while we are afraid of Madina,” the JUI-F remarked.

The activists of religious parties from Mardan warmly welcomed the acquitted students in the case after their arrival at the Rashaki interchange from Haripur where they were held in the prison and tried. 

Later, a large number of people brought the released people in huge cavalcade to Mardan.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Central Prison Haripur announced the decision in Mashal lynching case on Wednesday.

The court awarded death sentence to the main accused Imran Ali. The ATC judge also awarded three times life imprisonment (75 years) to five of the accused including Mudassir Bashir and Bilal Bakhsh.

Meanwhile, a large number of people visited the houses of the released people and congratulated them and their parents on their release.

The majority of those accused in Mashal Khan lynching case were affiliated with the students’ wings of the religio-political parties. Ironically, neither the religious parties and supporters of the accused nor the supporters of Mashal Khan were satisfied with the court decision.