PTI counci­llor Arif Khan, Asad given life impris­onment for their role in lynchi­ng of 23-year-old studen­tPESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Peshawar on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to two accused, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) councilor Arif Khan, in the Mashal Khan lynching case. The court acquitted two others named for their involvement in the 2017 public lynching at Bacha Khan University in Mardan. 365 days to the brutal lynching of Mashal KhanA 13-member joint investigation (JIT) had found that the allegations of blasphemy were used as a pretext to incite a mob against Mashal. Earlier, an ATC in Abbotabad awarded death penalty to main suspect Imran, life imprisonment to five and, one and three-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) to 25 others. The 25 convicted persons filed an appeal in the Peshawar High Court against their sentencing and submitted surety bonds to guarantee their release.

Source: The Express Tribune March 21, 2019 06:31 UTC