ABBOTABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) reserved its decision in Mashal Khan murder case on Saturday, which will be announced on February 7.
The ATC Judge Fazl Subhan heading the hearing reserved the verdict after the defence lawyers recorded their arguments in a session held at Haripur Central Jail.
Mashal Khan, a student of journalism from Abdul Wali Khan University, was beaten and shot to death on April 13, 2017 by a mob after allegations of him sharing blasphemous content on the internet surfaced.
Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Yahya Afridi on July 28, 2017 ordered the transfer of Khan’s murder case from Mardan to an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Haripur jail after Mashal’s father requested the move fearing “influential adversaries”.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Police (IGP) Salahuddin Khan Mehsud had said during a press conference on April 17, 2017 that no concrete evidence of Mashal committing blasphemy was found.
“We did not find any concrete evidence under which an investigation or legal action can be launched against Mashal, Abdullah or Zubair,” Mehsud had said.
During Saturday’s hearing, around 50 witnesses recorded their statements before the judge, including Mashal’s father Iqbal Khan, his friends and teachers.
