LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed alarm over a student’s lynching by a mob at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan on Thursday, urging effective steps to bring all those involved to justice and to tackle the panic and horror among citizens, especially students and the academia, in the aftermath of the barbaric murder.

In a statement issued on Friday, the commission said: “The brutal killing of the young student in Mardan, and serious injuries to another, offers evidence, although none was needed, of what a blood-thirsty society we have become. It shows how easily the name of religion can be invoked, however unfounded that might be, to kill with abandon. More than anything else, it shows that the state’s resolve to protect citizens from senseless violence consistently falls far short of the resolve of those using the name of religion to massacre human beings. This deserves condemnation beyond words.

“HRCP is greatly saddened that such hair-raising brutality unfolded in a place of higher learning, where students are expected to be tolerant of others’ views. For that is what makes a free exchange of ideas possible.

“The state’s abject failure to protect Mashal Khan’s right to life has created great panic and horror among students and academia. Unless all those who played any part in Mashal’s murder are brought to justice, such barbarity will only spread.

“The malaise that manifested itself in Mardan will not vanish with brief shuttering of the university. All those who believe in positive human values must speak out and suggest ways to prevent vigilantes causing mayhem by using the name of religion. Staying quiet in the face of such barbarism will condemn us all as accomplices.”

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2017