:00:00. > :00:15.A horrific lynching captured on camera only university campus. The
:00:16. > :00:20.victim is a star student, Mashal Khan, who describes himself as a
:00:21. > :00:24.humanist. The mob, though, think he is a blasphemer. His attackers are
:00:25. > :00:30.his classmates, and even university employees. This was Mashal Khan 's
:00:31. > :00:34.room he tried to hide from the mob. They found him here. The kick in,
:00:35. > :00:39.they beat him, they hit him with sticks and they shot him. They were
:00:40. > :00:46.happy. When they were at record eating him, they were happy. --
:00:47. > :00:50.beating. The issue of blossoming has long provided Pakistani society and
:00:51. > :00:52.some hope this case could finally lead to some reformed. -- plus for
:00:53. > :01:06.me. Others are bitterly opposed to that.
:01:07. > :01:36.-- deadly. This is the village of Mashal Khan,
:01:37. > :01:46.in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is for his family still
:01:47. > :01:53.live. -- Zaida. They are trying to keep his room just as it was before
:01:54. > :01:58.his death. He was a big inspiration for you then? He was a big
:01:59. > :02:03.inspiration because he said, and he did a lot of work with me, and he
:02:04. > :02:11.said to me that he will get awards like me. -- you will.
:02:12. > :02:19.Supporters have composed poems and songs in Mashal's honour. That is
:02:20. > :02:47.normally reserved father, it can be hard to listen to.
:02:48. > :02:54.Mashal spent a year studying in Russia. The experience broadened his
:02:55. > :02:56.horizons. When he came back, he decided he wanted to become a
:02:57. > :03:22.journalist. Abdul Wali Khan University
:03:23. > :03:26.University is one of the newest with the student population over 12,000.
:03:27. > :03:31.It is over an hour were's away from Mashal Khan's village. The campus
:03:32. > :03:35.has been closed since his murder. That is the Department of journalism
:03:36. > :03:41.where he used to study and over there is the hostile that he lived
:03:42. > :03:45.in. And it is where he died. Mashal stood out here for his intelligence
:03:46. > :03:52.and his liberal views. He had plenty of close friends. That is Mashal?
:03:53. > :03:57.That is Mashal and this is me. Abdullah will also be accused of
:03:58. > :04:04.blasphemy and for him, and other journalism student. We were just
:04:05. > :04:10.gossiping. What was your first impression of him? He is a kind of
:04:11. > :04:15.genius guide. It was it about him that made you think that? His
:04:16. > :04:23.thoughts. The way he spoke in the class and he used to read Karl Marx,
:04:24. > :04:26.he was a big fan of Karl Marx. Mashal would debate with more
:04:27. > :04:30.Conservative students. He described himself as a Muslim but also a
:04:31. > :04:41.liberal. Over time, debate turned to threats. He used to discuss with
:04:42. > :04:46.religious fanatics, India neither but he used to discuss these things.
:04:47. > :05:11.What were they talk about? What were their discussions about? About
:05:12. > :05:17.Islam, and religion. Did he ever think he should stop talking about
:05:18. > :05:24.is this? Yeah. Several times he told me but I think it couldn't. He was
:05:25. > :05:30.outspoken. -- he couldn't. Blasphemy is probably the most emotive topic
:05:31. > :05:34.in Turkistan. It is legally punishable by death but no one has
:05:35. > :05:39.ever been executed for it but doesn't accused of it have been
:05:40. > :05:42.killed by mobs. In the lead up to Mashal's killing the authorities
:05:43. > :05:45.were talking about banning all social media to prevent what they
:05:46. > :05:50.call blasphemous material being spread online and even after
:05:51. > :05:54.Mashal's death, Pakistani telecoms authorities into this text message
:05:55. > :05:59.to all Pakistanis, saying uploading and sharing laughter must content on
:06:00. > :06:04.the internet is a punishable offence under the law, such content should
:06:05. > :06:11.be reported for legal action. What critics say is this kind of message
:06:12. > :06:15.encourages a kind of vigilantism. Blasphemy allegations are often
:06:16. > :06:20.using Pakistan as a way to settle personal feuds. Mashal's father
:06:21. > :06:24.believes this video of him criticising alleged quip --
:06:25. > :06:29.corruption in the university a few days before his death led to a
:06:30. > :06:33.conspiracy against him. Police has also collected evidence suggesting
:06:34. > :06:38.students jealous of Mashal's influence wanted him out of the
:06:39. > :06:42.university. It is hard to know what that is true. What we know is that
:06:43. > :06:47.most of those who took part in the violence did believe Mashal was a
:06:48. > :06:52.blasphemer. I think at one time the notion or the thing of action in
:06:53. > :06:56.Pakistan was if somebody wanted to get someone killed they would go and
:06:57. > :07:01.hire what we came to know as target killers, Hitmen for hire,
:07:02. > :07:07.mercenaries. Now, just released a rumour that they have committed
:07:08. > :07:10.blasphemy and they will be killed. Dozens of Mashal's friends who
:07:11. > :07:14.appeared in the videos of the killings have been arrested. Some
:07:15. > :07:19.members of religious student organisations, others left-wingers.
:07:20. > :07:23.We want to understand what was behind their brutality. I have
:07:24. > :07:27.managed to get a hold of some of their statements to police. One of
:07:28. > :07:33.the statement is from one of Mashal's follow journalism students.
:07:34. > :07:37.In it, in this slightly bizarre language of the Pakistani court
:07:38. > :07:41.system, he says he has long accused Mashal of having nefarious and
:07:42. > :07:50.devilish designs as well as an anti- Islamic attitude. We are the --
:07:51. > :07:54.about to meet his father. He is not accused of having beaten Michelle
:07:55. > :07:58.but having it cites the attacks by accusing him of blasphemy in front
:07:59. > :08:04.of a group of other students. Mark Rutte for Mashal. -- Mashal. His
:08:05. > :08:10.father is a retired university professor. He spent five years
:08:11. > :08:15.studying in Dundee. Has he ever spoken to get about this oil Mashal
:08:16. > :08:26.Khan before? Yes, he told me this guy is talking about blasphemy. I
:08:27. > :08:33.told him tell your department chairman and ask him to settle the
:08:34. > :08:36.problem. He is adamant Mashal was committing blasphemy and should have
:08:37. > :08:43.been expelled by the University. Nobody should commit blasphemy
:08:44. > :08:50.otherwise he will be hanged. But what will happen if somebody is
:08:51. > :08:56.reputedly doing this, saying this, and nobody is taking action, so who
:08:57. > :09:01.is responsible for this? Do you think Mashal has some responsibility
:09:02. > :09:08.over his own death basically? Yes, he is responsible for his own death,
:09:09. > :09:17.I think so. Let my son blasphemy and if someone killed him? So he is
:09:18. > :09:21.responsible for this. The day of the lynching, it seems, began like any
:09:22. > :09:31.other. The three apparently had no idea what was about to happen. --
:09:32. > :09:35.Mashal. A group of students demanded to see the lecturers, accusing
:09:36. > :09:36.Mashal and two with his friends from having committed blasphemy. The
:09:37. > :09:40.first attacked friends that he was rescued by
:09:41. > :09:52.police. The mob began to swell in number,
:09:53. > :09:57.chanting slogans against Mashal. Mashal was hiding in his hostel.
:09:58. > :10:01.Friends had warned him mob was after him. He began frantically calling
:10:02. > :10:02.and texting friends. We have seen some of his last messages. Mashal
:10:03. > :10:18.writes: Mashal never replied. The mob found
:10:19. > :10:27.him on the second floor of the hostel. This is his room. It is
:10:28. > :10:31.still in the same condition. It is kind of incredible. I came here the
:10:32. > :10:41.day after the murders and now over a month, nothing has changed. This
:10:42. > :10:48.room is in exactly the same mess but it was the day Mashal died, down to
:10:49. > :10:51.what seems to be one of his last meals and its remnants lying there.
:10:52. > :10:58.The only thing that seems to have changed is that here, when I came
:10:59. > :11:01.the day after the murder, he had a post of Che Guevara in the post of
:11:02. > :11:12.Karl Marx and someone has written down. -- ripped them down. These
:11:13. > :11:17.other bloodstains where it seems the authorities think that Mashal was
:11:18. > :11:21.lined up against the wall and shot. At least two eyewitnesses that I
:11:22. > :11:25.have spoken to say after he was shot he was still alive and they try to
:11:26. > :11:30.carry his body back down the stairs to try and get him some help because
:11:31. > :11:35.after the shop had run out, the mob dispersed and they were able to try
:11:36. > :11:39.and rescue him. They told we that his last words that he said was he
:11:40. > :11:44.was reciting the Muslim statement of faith, there is no God but all are
:11:45. > :11:48.and the harm it is his messenger and when I got to the bottom of the
:11:49. > :11:52.stairs, the mob had reassembled and they managed to grab his body back.
:11:53. > :11:57.From this point, Mashal's last moment captured on mobile phones.
:11:58. > :12:04.His fellow students beat him as he lay dying. The videos were instantly
:12:05. > :12:08.shared across Pakistan. Their brutality and the brazen nature of
:12:09. > :12:15.the killings banknote attempt to disguise their identity shocked the
:12:16. > :12:19.nation. Mashal is eventually dragged outside, even long after he was
:12:20. > :12:23.dead, they continued beating his body. Police were present but were
:12:24. > :12:32.either unable or unwilling to stop them. Even more gathered, some just
:12:33. > :12:41.to watch the spectacle, some to aim a kick or even spit on Mashal's
:12:42. > :12:51.body. They were saying that : hit him. They were happy. When they were
:12:52. > :12:57.beating him, they were happy. After killing Mashal, the mob gathered in
:12:58. > :13:00.celebration. Leading them is a local councillor from mainstream political
:13:01. > :13:17.party. Of the few remaining suspects still at large. --1 of.
:13:18. > :13:20.This body was eventually recovered by police and taken home to this
:13:21. > :13:56.family. Were still struggling to understand
:13:57. > :14:00.what led to the massive escalation of violence. Why did the students
:14:01. > :14:06.form a mob now and what exactly was it that they found so offensive? I
:14:07. > :14:09.was hoping that a document I had obtained, written by one of the
:14:10. > :14:18.accused, might give me a clue. We got hold of another letter, written
:14:19. > :14:24.to religious scholars, encouraging the killers of Mashal. In it he goes
:14:25. > :14:27.into detail about the alleged blasphemy that Mashal was
:14:28. > :14:31.committing. He spoke about one conversation in particular that he
:14:32. > :14:36.had with Mashal about Adam and Eve in which Mashal was saying why is
:14:37. > :14:39.incest forbidden in Islam if the children of Adam and Eve would have
:14:40. > :14:47.had incestuous relationships with each other for mankind to exist? He
:14:48. > :14:57.is being held at the central jail a long with 50 others arrested for the
:14:58. > :15:01.murder. I got rarer Access to the suspects. We spoke to Wajahat and he
:15:02. > :15:05.said that on the day of the murder no-one set out with the intention of
:15:06. > :15:09.killing Mashal. They wanted to give him a few slaps, hand him over to
:15:10. > :15:14.police and have him expelled from university. The jail, however, is
:15:15. > :15:21.full of other suspects and I spoke to someone involved in the physical
:15:22. > :15:26.violence, another journalist student who shot Mashal and has no regrets
:15:27. > :15:31.about what he did. He believes Mashal Khan deserved to die.
:15:32. > :15:37.Mashal's killers have their sympathisers. This was a rally just
:15:38. > :15:46.weeks after the murder, calling Mashal bluster Ma. -- a blasphemer.
:15:47. > :15:49.It was addressed by a number of former MPs, including this man, a
:15:50. > :15:56.leading local figure in the Islamist party. He was one of the clerics
:15:57. > :16:00.that Wajahat sent his letter to from jail. I went to ask him about the
:16:01. > :16:04.supposedly blasphemous comments. The letter that Wajahat wrote that you
:16:05. > :16:12.received as well said that Adam's children must have committed incest
:16:13. > :16:13.for the human race to evolve. Is that blasphemy, to raise that is the
:16:14. > :16:34.point? But using that was not a
:16:35. > :16:44.philosophical argument he was making?
:16:45. > :16:51.We are talking about whether Mashal committed blasphemy or not. Many
:16:52. > :16:57.people around the world, it is irrelevant. No matter what he said,
:16:58. > :17:00.what ever he might or is alleged to have said, nothing can justify
:17:01. > :17:47.killing someone, especially not in that way.
:17:48. > :17:53.40 days after Mashal's death, the family are hosting a come oration of
:17:54. > :18:29.his death. A progressive coalition is building around his memory.
:18:30. > :18:38.A few thousand turnout for the rally. The red caps belong to
:18:39. > :18:41.supporters of the local left-wing political party. Others are just
:18:42. > :18:47.individuals wanting to show solidarity. None of the mainstream
:18:48. > :18:52.political parties I hear, but I Pakistani standards, this is
:18:53. > :18:59.unprecedented, given the accusations. That is proclaimed him
:19:00. > :19:04.as a martyr. But the movement to an Mashal is gathering enemies. Despite
:19:05. > :19:07.repeated announcements from the police the Mashal had not committed
:19:08. > :19:17.blasphemy, this man is convinced that he did. And he is adamant there
:19:18. > :19:25.will be no change to the blasphemy laws.
:19:26. > :19:36.Some people would say, why do you even need a blasphemy law? Why would
:19:37. > :19:48.God or any of the profits be worried by somebody insulting them? --
:19:49. > :19:52.prophets. Even other religious scholars have come out in support of
:19:53. > :19:56.Mashal and said the way he was killed was wrong and we have to
:19:57. > :20:01.guard against false accusations of blasphemy. But none of them, not
:20:02. > :20:08.even the secular parties, are really seriously considering or discussing
:20:09. > :20:11.reforming or abolishing the blasphemy laws because it is just
:20:12. > :20:15.such a sensitive topic here and they know there would be such popular
:20:16. > :20:22.resistance. That is what is so dangerous. These laws are actually,
:20:23. > :20:32.unlike extremist groups, they are popular here with ordinary people.
:20:33. > :20:35.The university has now reopened. Although some students told us they
:20:36. > :20:41.are trying to transfer, worried by its new reputation. The reopening of
:20:42. > :20:47.the university was a chance to meet a finely talk to the university
:20:48. > :20:51.administration. Isn't it a failure of the University that its students
:20:52. > :20:56.held, or some of its students held such extreme views that they thought
:20:57. > :21:03.it was acceptable to Lynch and kill someone? It is a failure of the
:21:04. > :21:10.University but it is a failure of the Pakistani education system. It
:21:11. > :21:14.is a failure of the Pakistani social and political system and Pakistani
:21:15. > :21:19.society as a whole. Wajahat's father lives in the shadow was the jail
:21:20. > :21:23.that now houses his son. He is worried about the future of his son
:21:24. > :21:29.and of the country. Now we are becoming atheist, the people are
:21:30. > :21:35.free to make people atheist and what does that make Pakistan? Do you
:21:36. > :21:42.think atheism is spreading in Pakistan? I think it is because
:21:43. > :21:49.people like you and the media who are getting more and more attention
:21:50. > :21:54.to such atheistic views, of course it will grab the whole country. In
:21:55. > :22:02.the very near future. Because nobody will be safe. They will not be in
:22:03. > :22:14.safe hands. And we will lose our identity. There is still so many
:22:15. > :22:17.questions around Mashal's death. Could the police have done more?
:22:18. > :22:19.Would the university administration? There are concerns that failings
:22:20. > :22:22.could be covered up.