ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: With a request to transfer the case to Islamabad, father of Mashal Khan, a student of journalism who was lynched last month by a mob of students for alleged blasphemy, on Wednesday informed Supreme Court that police have so far arrested “actors” and not the “directors’ of his son’s murder.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said that there was a “campaign” behind the murder of Mashal Khan and the news of the lynching did not even reach the police.

He made these observations while heading a three-member bench of the apex court which conducted the hearing of the case.

Iqbal Khan, who was present in the court, literally begged the apex court to conduct the trial of his son’s murder case in capital instead of Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“My son was beaten from 10:00am to 3:00pm,” Jan told the apex court.

“Police were present when the incident occurred but they did not take action,” he added.

The Chief Justice said if police had been negligent during the incident, a thorough investigation will be conducted.

Mashal was attacked by a vigilante mob, incited by rumours, for allegedly publishing blasphemous contents online, which the police had so far failed to establish. The student was beaten and shot at by the mob who succumbed to his injuries.

The Supreme Court had taken the suo motu notice of the harrowing incident and directed police to regularly provide details of the investigation to it.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice asked whether the video footage of the incident that showed the mob of university students kicking the lifeless body of the victim and beating it with wooden planks, had been obtained via CCTV footage or social media.

“We know what happened to the dead body of the victim,” he said.

Lawyer Khawaja Izhar told the bench that the video was enough to serve as evidence in the case. He also told the court that Mashal’s sisters have been unable to continue their education after the incident due to security reasons.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police presented a report before the apex court, detailing the number of arrests made so far in the case.

“53 suspects have been arrested, of whom, 49 are in jail and four have been sent on remand while two others have escaped,” the report said.

“The key suspect in the case, Imran, has been arrested. He has accepted his crime,” the report added.

Mashal’s father told the bench that he wanted to shift his daughters from Swabi, the family’s hometown, to the capital.

He, through his counsel, further informed the court that police did not even cross-examine university lecturer Dr Ziaullah Hamdard, the main witness of the incident.

Responding to the counsel, the bench observed that Mashal’s father can write a letter to the apex court’s Human Rights Cell to redress his grievances. The bench also directed police to expeditiously submit the final challan against the suspects.

The Chief Justice observed that Mashal’s murder followed a protest movement but the police still remained ignorant.

“If there had been negligence by the police officials, what disciplinary actions were taken against them,” he asked.

“Law is available for transfer of case from one place to another for ensuring fair trial,” he observed.

Earlier, KP Additional Advocate General Waqar Khan informed the court that the provincial government, following a court order, withdrew its request for constitution of a judicial commission to probe the matter.

He also submitted a progress report on behalf of the police, claiming 53 accused have been arrested so far while two others are still at large. He went on to inform the court that the main suspect had also been arrested and subsequently a confessional statement was also recorded.

The court adjourned the hearing for three weeks.