PESHAWAR: A new video circulating on Tuesday contains footage of scenes following the Mardan university lynching, showing a man demanding that a group of students take an oath to conceal the identity of the man who shot 23-year-old Mashal Khan.
In the footage, PTI councillor Arif allegedly warned the mob not to disclose the name of the shooter. The video shows that mob congratulating each other for killing Mashal, besides warning law enforcers not to nominate them in the FIR. The video was recorded after the death of Mashal who was first fired upon and later lynched by the mob. In the footage, Arif can be heard proclaiming that anyone who names the shooter will be considered “a blasphemer”.
The declaration appears to be a veiled threat to silence those who may testify against the murder and protect the main culprits. Arif names himself and his father and states that anyone who wished to lodge a first information report in the case is free to nominate him for the murder.
According to university students, Arif does not attend Abdul Wali Khan University, but has been allowed on the premises on several occasions. The video surfaced at a time when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief visited the house of Mashal to express condolence with his family, where he vowed to give strict punishment to those involved in the brutal murder. Meanwhile, the administration of Abdul Wali Khan University on Tuesday suspended seven of its employees in connection with the murder of Mashal Khan.
