PESHAWAR (SW): The mob-lynching of a university student in Pakistan over alleged blasphemy has once again surfaced the gravity of the matter, and calls for removing curriculum material that sparks fundamentalism and extremism.
Mashal Khan, a young and promising student in Pakistan was lynched by an angry mob of his fellow students over alleged blasphemy last week. Khan, the 23-year-old student of journalism and Mass Communication department of the Abdul Wali Khan University in northwest of the country is latest victim if this spree. The bizarre incident took place in the bright day light on the university premises in which another student was seriously injured by a vigilante mob for allegedly "publishing blasphemous content online”.
Sangin Khan, a local politician, told Salam Watandar that people who promote extremist ideology are equally responsible for the murder of Mashal Khan. Sangin called for removing material from curriculum that fuels fanatic ideology. Sanay Ejaz, a human rights activist, said in this regard that the university administration should have stopped this incident from taking place. Ejaz also underlined the need for reforms in the curriculum.
On Monday, the police announced they had arrested 22 people for investigations, but there is no evidence to prove Khan actually committed blasphemy. According to the Express Tribune, Salahuddin Khan Mehsud, the Inspector General (IG) of police in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province where this incident took place, has said the police had so far found no evidence to support the blasphemy allegations against Khan.
In the meantime, the US State Department on Wednesday updated its travel advisory for Pakistan and advised US nationals against all non-essential travel to the country. "Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks." said the state department advisory.
The advisory added that targeted attacks against government officials, humanitarian and non-governmental organisation (NGO) employees, tribal elders, and law enforcement personnel are common. The travel advisory also said that sectarian violence remains a serious threat throughout Pakistan, with the government continuing to enforce blasphemy laws. "Religious minority communities have been victims of targeted killings and accusations of blasphemy," said the US State Department.
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