Mashal Khan’s father files appeals against case verdict

Appeals demand to harden punishment for those acquitted

PESHAWAR: Mashal Khan’s father on Saturday approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC), seeking harsher punishments for all the accused and convicts in the case related to the lynching of his son.

Muhammad Iqbal moved the court through his lawyers Fazal Khan, Muhammad Ayaz, Shahab Khattak and Barrister Amirullah Khan. In his appeals, Iqbal said lesser punishments were awarded despite the fact that ample evidence was furnished and the prosecution proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt.

Mashal’s father asked for enhancing punishment of Imran Sultan, who was already awarded death by the ATC in Abbottabad. He challenged the acquittal of 26 persons ‘despite availability of evidence against them’, arguing that their acquittal would set a negative example for the youth of Pakistan and encourage others two commit such crime.



He emphasised that five convicts who were awarded life imprisonment should have been given capital punishment according to the evidence available.

Iqbal also appealed to the PHC to enhance punishment of 25 persons who were sent to prison for four years. He said they had gathered in the form of an illegal mob with the common intentions to kill his son, and that ample evidence was available against them.

The petitioner said that severe punishment should be awarded under the relevant section of the law to all the accused to deter them and others from committing such a crime in the future.

“This is the most important case,” said Iqbal while talking to the media after submitting his appeals. “It is important because the future of the country’s youth is connected to it.”



Iqbal said he had expressed disagreements with the judgment for the supremacy of the law and to show an enlightened Pakistan to the global community.

He said the demands made by his family were geared towards reinstating the rule of law. The fate of the accused in the case should be decided in accordance with the law of the land as well as the available evidence already furnished by lawyers to the court, he added.

Talking about the appeal already filed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, lawyer Shahab Khattak said the government had its own responsibility, but the family also had the right to file appeals.

“With the support of Mashal’s family, we will continue this legal struggle for our generations as it is the matter of our coming generations and the future of our country,” said the lawyer.

He added that it would not only keep a check on the government but would also enable the dispensation of justice.

On the other hand, Advocate Fazal Khan said, “It is a case of ‘common intention’ making all the accused legally responsible for the crime and thus, we request the court to award capital punishment to all [the culprits].”

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