MARDAN/PESHAWAR: A new video circulated on Tuesday, purportedly containing footage of scenes following the lynching at Abdul Wali Khan University, shows that a group of students was made to take an oath of silence over the identity of the man who killed Mashal Khan.

Mashal was lynched moments before the video was made, over allegations of blasphemy that have since turned out to be unfounded.

The video shows the lynch mob shouting religious slogans in Pashto and congratulating each other over the brutal episode.

Mob leader identified as ISF councillor; university professor recounts horror of lynching

In the video, a man who appears to be the ringleader, is heard proclaiming that anyone who names the shooter would be considered to have betrayed the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

The following is a transcript of the video’s content:

“Congratulations, congratulations!

Silence, silence!

Whoever shot [Mashal], don’t take [the shooter’s] name

Whoever takes [the shooter’s] name will be guilty of [blasphemy]. If you want to file an FIR, my name is Arif and my father’s name is Thor Khan”

The individual who identified himself as Arif is popularly known as Arif Mardanvi, and, according to locals, is a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) tehsil councillor and an office-bearer of the Insaf Student Federation’s (ISF) Mardan chapter.

But despite the declaration in the video that he should be nominated in the FIR, police are still looking for Arif, who remains at large.

PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq told Dawn that he had not been able to verify whether Arif was a party office-bearer or not. “Our official stance is that whether he is from our party or any other party, anybody involved in this conspiracy won’t be spared. We are aware of this development and will let the law take its course, no matter who the accused is.”

But PTI MPA and former KP health minister Shaukat Yousafzai confirmed that Arif Ahmed — who also goes by the alias Arif Mardanvi — was a member of the ISF and a tehsil councillor from Mardan. “He is a part of ISF but his allegiances lie elsewhere,” Mr Yousafzai said, without elaborating further.

Teacher’s account

Separately, a teacher from Abdul Wali Khan University described the moment he was accosted by the mob that attacked, stripped, beat and shot the 22-year-old mass communication student before throwing him from the second floor of his hostel, AFP reported.

Ziaullah Hamdard, one of Mashal Khan’s teachers, said on Tuesday that he saw students shouting slogans against Mashal and another student, Abdullah.

One university employee threatened to kill Mashal and cut him into pieces, Hamdard told Geo News. Then, the mob began kicking in the door to a washroom where Abdullah had taken refuge.

“All this happened in seconds. They broke the door, some of them had batons, they were furious — suddenly they entered inside... they were not listening to anyone,” Hamdard said.

Police arrived and managed to yank a wounded Abdullah to safety, he said. Hamdard then rushed to the staff hostel, but around 20 students were already there and accused him of hiding Mashal.

“Two of them kicked me and snatched my mobile and locked me in my room.” Hamdard was rescued by another teacher and taken away by police. By then Mashal, who had been hiding in his own room at a nearby hostel, was dead.

Social media users have become increasingly nervous in the wake of the attack, with posts warning about the dangers of fake accounts that could be used for blasphemy allegations.

Abdullah, who has been taken into protective custody, claimed the university had wanted him to brand Mashal a blasphemer because he had criticised the school.

Dawn’s Mardan correspondent Mohammad Jamal Hoti and DawnNews staffers Ali Akbar and Hassan Farhan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2017