One of the acquitted in Mashal case being welcomed by religious parties-Geo News

PESHAWAR: Maulana Attaur Rehman, member of the Central Executive Committee of Jamaat-e-Islami, was rebuked by the party for giving a ?hero?s welcome? to those acquitted in the Mashal Khan murder case, the party?sInformation Secretary Ameerul Azeem told Geo News.

Azeem, however, then went on to claim that the welcome was given by the relatives of those acquitted.

He added that accusing any individual without any proof and killing anyone is wrong.

According to media reports, members of religious parties welcomed the release of 26 people acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in the murder of university student Mashal Khan.

The gathering was led by Rehman and other Jamaat Ulema Islam-Fazl at the Mardan Motorway.

One awarded death, five life imprisonment in Mashal Khan murder case

KP government will file appeals against acquittal of 26 suspects in the case, according to a senior government official

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) hearing the murder case of Mashal announced its verdict on Wednesday, awarding the death sentence to one accused and handing life sentences to five others.

Twenty-five accused in the case were awarded sentences of four years each, while 26 suspects were acquitted by the court for lack of evidence.

On April 13, 2017, 23-year-old Mashal Khan was lynched and murdered by an angry mob at the Abdul Wali Khan University on the pretext of committing blasphemy. However, investigators found no proof of blasphemy and ruled that the murder was politically motivated.