Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) councillor Arif Khan Mardanwi and Asad Katling were given life imprisonment while Sabir Mayar, and Izharullah were acquitted on the basis of poor evidence. On April 13, 2017, Mashal Khan, 23, a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM), was lynched by a mob allegedly comprising his fellow students riled up by allegations of blasphemy against the young man. A joint investigation team (JIT) which was formed to probe the lynching of Mashal Khan revealed that it was a well-planned attack by the Pakhtun Students Federation (PSF) and that there was no evidence of blasphemy involved. According to the report, Mashal was getting vocal about student rights and the increasing irregularities in the institution and was becoming an apparent threat to the PSF. The report also stated that there were no solid proofs found about blasphemy committed by Mashal and his friends.

Source: Pakistan Today March 21, 2019 06:43 UTC