PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani police opened a hate speech investigation involving two Muslim religious scholars on Sunday after the killing of a university student over allegations he committed blasphemy.
The scholars are accused of attempting to disrupt the funeral of student Mashal Khan, who was beaten to death by fellow students after a dormitory debate was followed by accusations of blasphemy being spread across a university campus in the northern city of Maradan.
University officials had issued a public notification hours before the murder naming three students being investigated for “blasphemous activities.”
Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive topic in Pakistan, where penalties range from small fines to the death sentence, and dozens of people are on death row in the country’s jails.
In a statement released to the press on Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he was “shocked and saddened by the senseless display of mob justice that resulted in the murder of a young student, Mashal Khan, at Wali Khan University.”
Mardan police chief Alam Shinwari said 20 people had been identified as culpable in the killing on the basis of videos taken during the attack, and 15 had been arrested. He said they would be tried by anti-terrorism courts.
Police say they are also investigating the scholars in Khan’s hometown of Swabi, some 60 km south of Mardan, for attempting to disrupt funeral proceedings and instigate hatred against the dead student’s family.
“The two scholars ... the mosque loudspeaker for hate speech against the slain student and his family and ... created hurdles for the people and another scholar to participate in the funeral,” a senior Swabi police official said.
He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by religious hard-liners.
A local imam had refused to lead the funeral prayers at Khan’s funeral on Friday, according to Swabi resident Salman Ahmed.
A technician who was asked to do so in the scholar’s place was confronted by several people afterward.
In his press release, the prime minister said the perpetrators of the attack would be brought to justice.
“The nation should stand united to condemn this crime and to promote tolerance and rule of law in society,” Sharif said. — Reuters
