Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan on Friday condemned the lynching of a 23-year-old student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan by an enraged mob a day earlier.
Khan, in a tweet, said: "I am in touch with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General since last night on condemnable lynching of student in Mardan."
The PTI chief noted, "Law of the jungle can't prevail," and said that firm action is necessary.
Condemning the act, PTI MNA Asad Umer also tweeted:
"Mardan lynching yet another example of how increasing intolerance is destroying the fabric of society"
Khan and Umer were among only a handful of prominent politicians who issued a strong statement in the Abdul Wali Khan University attack.
Bilawal condemns the ‘cold-blooded murder’
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed grave concern “over the cold-blooded murder of Mashal Khan”, read a statement issued by PPP.
The PPP Chairman demanded immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the condemnable mob act. Bilawal said such incidents in the universities were a big threat to our educational institutions and government should take adequate steps to check such incidents in future.
He also expressed sympathies with the parents and the family of the victim.
On April 13, Mashal Khan and another student of the university, Abdullah, were attacked by a vigilante mob for allegedly "publishing blasphemous content online", local police had said.
Mashal was first shot, then beaten up with wooden planks by an enraged mob of university students.
The incident occurred within the university premises. The campus was shut down following the incident until further notice and its hostels vacated to avoid a further escalation of violence.
No case had been filed against the two students prior to the incident and police had not been investigating the two on blasphemy charges.
The mob instead seems to have been incited by rumours circulating among the university's student body.
A First Information Report was lodged on Friday against 20 suspects, eight of whom have been arrested, police said.
