Murder on Campus Our World

A horrific lynching captured on camera only university campus. The

victim is a star student, Mashal Khan, who describes himself as a

humanist. The mob, though, think he is a blasphemer. His attackers are

his classmates, and even university employees. This was Mashal Khan 's

room he tried to hide from the mob. They found him here. The kick in,

they beat him, they hit him with sticks and they shot him. They were

happy. When they were at record eating him, they were happy. --

beating. The issue of blossoming has long provided Pakistani society and

some hope this case could finally lead to some reformed. -- plus for

me. Others are bitterly opposed to that.

-- deadly. This is the village of Mashal Khan,

in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is for his family still

live. -- Zaida. They are trying to keep his room just as it was before

his death. He was a big inspiration for you then? He was a big

inspiration because he said, and he did a lot of work with me, and he

said to me that he will get awards like me. -- you will.

Supporters have composed poems and songs in Mashal's honour. That is

normally reserved father, it can be hard to listen to.

Mashal spent a year studying in Russia. The experience broadened his

horizons. When he came back, he decided he wanted to become a

journalist. Abdul Wali Khan University

University is one of the newest with the student population over 12,000.

It is over an hour were's away from Mashal Khan's village. The campus

has been closed since his murder. That is the Department of journalism

where he used to study and over there is the hostile that he lived

in. And it is where he died. Mashal stood out here for his intelligence

and his liberal views. He had plenty of close friends. That is Mashal?

That is Mashal and this is me. Abdullah will also be accused of

blasphemy and for him, and other journalism student. We were just

gossiping. What was your first impression of him? He is a kind of

genius guide. It was it about him that made you think that? His

thoughts. The way he spoke in the class and he used to read Karl Marx,

he was a big fan of Karl Marx. Mashal would debate with more

Conservative students. He described himself as a Muslim but also a

liberal. Over time, debate turned to threats. He used to discuss with

religious fanatics, India neither but he used to discuss these things.

What were they talk about? What were their discussions about? About

Islam, and religion. Did he ever think he should stop talking about

is this? Yeah. Several times he told me but I think it couldn't. He was

outspoken. -- he couldn't. Blasphemy is probably the most emotive topic

in Turkistan. It is legally punishable by death but no one has

ever been executed for it but doesn't accused of it have been

killed by mobs. In the lead up to Mashal's killing the authorities

were talking about banning all social media to prevent what they

call blasphemous material being spread online and even after

Mashal's death, Pakistani telecoms authorities into this text message

to all Pakistanis, saying uploading and sharing laughter must content on

the internet is a punishable offence under the law, such content should

be reported for legal action. What critics say is this kind of message

encourages a kind of vigilantism. Blasphemy allegations are often

using Pakistan as a way to settle personal feuds. Mashal's father

believes this video of him criticising alleged quip --

corruption in the university a few days before his death led to a

conspiracy against him. Police has also collected evidence suggesting

students jealous of Mashal's influence wanted him out of the

university. It is hard to know what that is true. What we know is that

most of those who took part in the violence did believe Mashal was a

blasphemer. I think at one time the notion or the thing of action in

Pakistan was if somebody wanted to get someone killed they would go and

hire what we came to know as target killers, Hitmen for hire,

mercenaries. Now, just released a rumour that they have committed

blasphemy and they will be killed. Dozens of Mashal's friends who

appeared in the videos of the killings have been arrested. Some

members of religious student organisations, others left-wingers.

We want to understand what was behind their brutality. I have

managed to get a hold of some of their statements to police. One of

the statement is from one of Mashal's follow journalism students.

In it, in this slightly bizarre language of the Pakistani court

system, he says he has long accused Mashal of having nefarious and

devilish designs as well as an anti- Islamic attitude. We are the --

about to meet his father. He is not accused of having beaten Michelle

but having it cites the attacks by accusing him of blasphemy in front

of a group of other students. Mark Rutte for Mashal. -- Mashal. His

father is a retired university professor. He spent five years

studying in Dundee. Has he ever spoken to get about this oil Mashal

Khan before? Yes, he told me this guy is talking about blasphemy. I

told him tell your department chairman and ask him to settle the

problem. He is adamant Mashal was committing blasphemy and should have

been expelled by the University. Nobody should commit blasphemy

otherwise he will be hanged. But what will happen if somebody is

reputedly doing this, saying this, and nobody is taking action, so who

is responsible for this? Do you think Mashal has some responsibility

over his own death basically? Yes, he is responsible for his own death,

I think so. Let my son blasphemy and if someone killed him? So he is

responsible for this. The day of the lynching, it seems, began like any

other. The three apparently had no idea what was about to happen. --

Mashal. A group of students demanded to see the lecturers, accusing

Mashal and two with his friends from having committed blasphemy. The

first attacked friends that he was rescued by

police. The mob began to swell in number,

chanting slogans against Mashal. Mashal was hiding in his hostel.

Friends had warned him mob was after him. He began frantically calling

and texting friends. We have seen some of his last messages. Mashal

writes: Mashal never replied. The mob found

him on the second floor of the hostel. This is his room. It is

still in the same condition. It is kind of incredible. I came here the

day after the murders and now over a month, nothing has changed. This

room is in exactly the same mess but it was the day Mashal died, down to

what seems to be one of his last meals and its remnants lying there.

The only thing that seems to have changed is that here, when I came

the day after the murder, he had a post of Che Guevara in the post of

Karl Marx and someone has written down. -- ripped them down. These

other bloodstains where it seems the authorities think that Mashal was

lined up against the wall and shot. At least two eyewitnesses that I

have spoken to say after he was shot he was still alive and they try to

carry his body back down the stairs to try and get him some help because

after the shop had run out, the mob dispersed and they were able to try

and rescue him. They told we that his last words that he said was he

was reciting the Muslim statement of faith, there is no God but all are

and the harm it is his messenger and when I got to the bottom of the

stairs, the mob had reassembled and they managed to grab his body back.

From this point, Mashal's last moment captured on mobile phones.

His fellow students beat him as he lay dying. The videos were instantly

shared across Pakistan. Their brutality and the brazen nature of

the killings banknote attempt to disguise their identity shocked the

nation. Mashal is eventually dragged outside, even long after he was

dead, they continued beating his body. Police were present but were

either unable or unwilling to stop them. Even more gathered, some just

to watch the spectacle, some to aim a kick or even spit on Mashal's

body. They were saying that : hit him. They were happy. When they were

beating him, they were happy. After killing Mashal, the mob gathered in

celebration. Leading them is a local councillor from mainstream political

party. Of the few remaining suspects still at large. --1 of.

This body was eventually recovered by police and taken home to this

family. Were still struggling to understand

what led to the massive escalation of violence. Why did the students

form a mob now and what exactly was it that they found so offensive? I

was hoping that a document I had obtained, written by one of the

accused, might give me a clue. We got hold of another letter, written

to religious scholars, encouraging the killers of Mashal. In it he goes

into detail about the alleged blasphemy that Mashal was

committing. He spoke about one conversation in particular that he

had with Mashal about Adam and Eve in which Mashal was saying why is

incest forbidden in Islam if the children of Adam and Eve would have

had incestuous relationships with each other for mankind to exist? He

is being held at the central jail a long with 50 others arrested for the

murder. I got rarer Access to the suspects. We spoke to Wajahat and he

said that on the day of the murder no-one set out with the intention of

killing Mashal. They wanted to give him a few slaps, hand him over to

police and have him expelled from university. The jail, however, is

full of other suspects and I spoke to someone involved in the physical

violence, another journalist student who shot Mashal and has no regrets

about what he did. He believes Mashal Khan deserved to die.

Mashal's killers have their sympathisers. This was a rally just

weeks after the murder, calling Mashal bluster Ma. -- a blasphemer.

It was addressed by a number of former MPs, including this man, a

leading local figure in the Islamist party. He was one of the clerics

that Wajahat sent his letter to from jail. I went to ask him about the

supposedly blasphemous comments. The letter that Wajahat wrote that you

received as well said that Adam's children must have committed incest

for the human race to evolve. Is that blasphemy, to raise that is the

point? But using that was not a

philosophical argument he was making?

We are talking about whether Mashal committed blasphemy or not. Many

people around the world, it is irrelevant. No matter what he said,

what ever he might or is alleged to have said, nothing can justify

killing someone, especially not in that way.

40 days after Mashal's death, the family are hosting a come oration of

his death. A progressive coalition is building around his memory.

A few thousand turnout for the rally. The red caps belong to

supporters of the local left-wing political party. Others are just

individuals wanting to show solidarity. None of the mainstream

political parties I hear, but I Pakistani standards, this is

unprecedented, given the accusations. That is proclaimed him

as a martyr. But the movement to an Mashal is gathering enemies. Despite

repeated announcements from the police the Mashal had not committed

blasphemy, this man is convinced that he did. And he is adamant there

will be no change to the blasphemy laws.

Some people would say, why do you even need a blasphemy law? Why would

God or any of the profits be worried by somebody insulting them? --

prophets. Even other religious scholars have come out in support of

Mashal and said the way he was killed was wrong and we have to

guard against false accusations of blasphemy. But none of them, not

even the secular parties, are really seriously considering or discussing

reforming or abolishing the blasphemy laws because it is just

such a sensitive topic here and they know there would be such popular

resistance. That is what is so dangerous. These laws are actually,

unlike extremist groups, they are popular here with ordinary people.

The university has now reopened. Although some students told us they

are trying to transfer, worried by its new reputation. The reopening of

the university was a chance to meet a finely talk to the university

administration. Isn't it a failure of the University that its students

held, or some of its students held such extreme views that they thought

it was acceptable to Lynch and kill someone? It is a failure of the

University but it is a failure of the Pakistani education system. It

is a failure of the Pakistani social and political system and Pakistani

society as a whole. Wajahat's father lives in the shadow was the jail

that now houses his son. He is worried about the future of his son

and of the country. Now we are becoming atheist, the people are

free to make people atheist and what does that make Pakistan? Do you

think atheism is spreading in Pakistan? I think it is because

people like you and the media who are getting more and more attention

to such atheistic views, of course it will grab the whole country. In

the very near future. Because nobody will be safe. They will not be in

safe hands. And we will lose our identity. There is still so many

questions around Mashal's death. Could the police have done more?

Would the university administration? There are concerns that failings

could be covered up.