Two accused in Mashal Khan lynching case refused bail

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday dismissed bail petitions of two accused charged in the Mashal Khan lynching case.

A single bench of Justice Muhammad Nasir Mehfooz refused bail to two accused including Izharullah alias Johny and Sabir Mayar. However, the court directed the Prosecution Department to submit challan of the case against the accused in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) within 15 days. The court directed the court to decide the case within two months. Earlier, the ATC Peshawar had rejected bail applications of the accused persons in the case.

Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani, Muhammad Ayaz Khan and Fazal Khan appeared on behalf of the complainant Muhammad Iqbal Khan, father of Mashal Khan. The trial of the case regarding the three accused, who were absconders and arrested after the verdict in the case, had been transferred by the PHC to ATC Peshawar on the request of the complainant.

On August 17, the police had also arrested the third accused Asad Katlang after the ATC cancelled his bail before arrest application. After the court decision, Muhammad Iqbal, father of Mashal Khan, told media persons that he was satisfied with the court decision. He vowed to continue the legal battle against the killers of his son and those released or freed by the courts.

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Department of Mass Communication at the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was lynched by a mob on Apr 13, 2017, after accusing him of blasphemy. On February 7, the Anti-Terrorism Court had convicted 31 of the 57 accused persons in the lynching case, awarding death sentence to the prime accused, Imran Khan, life imprisonment to five of them, and three-year imprisonment to 25 others. However, it had acquitted the rest, observing that the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. The state and Masal's father had challenged the Anti-Terrorism Court's decision and appeals are still pending in the high court.