Students of Islamia College University protest against Mashal's murder

Lecturer Riaz Hussain had requested permission for rally but ICU administration denied it

PESHAWAR: Students and faculty members of Islamia College University (ICU) Peshawar held a rally on campus on Wednesday demanding justice for the brutal lynching of Mashal Khan, despite being barred from doing so by the administration.

Lecturer Riaz Hussain led the rally which was organised by the varsity’s English department. Scores of students and faculty members carried placards in support of Mashal and chanted slogans against his murder.

Twenty three-year-old Mashal, a journalism student at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM), was brutally lynched and shot dead by a mob of his fellow students on April 13 after being accused of blasphemy.



The ICU students demanded that the government provide justice to Mashal’s grieving family and take the perpetrators of the heinous crime to task. They also urged the government to create laws to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.

Hussain said he had submitted an application to the university yesterday seeking permission to hold the rally but the administration had denied the request.

An ICU administration official told The Express Tribune that the purpose of denying the request was not to stop students from taking part in the rally. He said they had requested the organiser to simply postpone the rally for another day because of intermediate exams taking place in the university.

Protests against Mashal’s murder have been taking place all over the country since the harrowing incident occurred last week.