An outspoken Pakistani student killed by a lynch mob was falsely accused of blasphemy, according to an official report that added his murder was organised by faculty members and rival students. Mashal Khan, 23, was stripped, beaten and shot before being thrown from the second floor of his hostel at the Abdul Wali Khan university in northwest Mardan in April. “No direct or indirect evidence supporting blasphemy allegations against Mashal Khan (or his friends) Abdullah and Zubair was received,” the 308-page report said. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive charge in conservative Muslim Pakistan, and can carry the death penalty. At least 65 people have been murdered by vigilantes over blasphemy allegations since 1990.

Source: Dhaka Tribune June 05, 2017 19:30 UTC