Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday expressed disappointment over the "cold-blooded murder" of Mashal Khan — a 23-year-old journalism student lynched by an angry mob on Thursday over blasphemy allegations in Mardan — saying it is "unfortunate that people who are behind [his murder] are associating religion" with the act.
Terming it as a “blatant murder”, the interior minister, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said it was the "law of the jungle" given the manner the young university student was killed.
Examine: How did politicians condemn Mashal Khan's brutal killing?
"Even if the accusations against someone are true, there is a process [to pursue the case]," he added.
"Islam is a model; it has a framework of justice," Nisar said, adding that the religion does not "permit" any maltreatment of a "non-Muslim" or "even an atheist".
"I think the provincial government has taken the right decision to call a judicial inquiry," the interior minister added, saying that this is an appropriate way to go about it.
Read more: No evidence found to suggest Mashal Khan committed blasphemy: CM Khattak
"It is an area in which the entire country has felt revulsion," he said, regretting that the incident showed "how certain people still, in this country, misuse the name of Islam."
'Pakistan's initiatives to curb blasphemous content on social media praised'
Earlier, the interior minister said that the heads of Islamic countries have appreciated Pakistan for its efforts to curb the sharing of blasphemous content on social media.
"We have been successful in removing a lot of [blasphemous] posts," he said, adding that the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had appreciated Pakistan's efforts as "blasphemy is a major issue".
"But we need to find a permanent solution to this problem," the interior minister added.
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"A Facebook vice president will be visiting Pakistan early next month," Nisar claimed, adding that they have removed more than 80 per cent posts with blasphemous content.
He said that Facebook is working with the government "on a fast-track basis" whenever there is a complaint regarding blasphemous content.
Nisar said that people have the right of expression and that they should exercise it, but he was repulsed how some people referred to some of the most celebrated religious personalities of Islam in "gutter language".
"You can disagree. You have your religion, I have my religion. You can disagree with the principles of our religion (Islam) ... but the way some of [Islam's] holiest personalities were referred to was beyond my imagination," he added, saying that "gutter language is a mild term" to describe the content.
The interior minister said that the Government of Pakistan, upon the recommendation of the OIC, is planning to hold a conference in the coming months, in which not only members of the OIC but also the service providers as well as the counterpart agencies of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority will also be invited.
Nisar said that the conference, the planning of which is underway, is likely to be held after the month of Ramazan.
