Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A young man has been arrested on charges of shooting Mashal Khan, DIG Mardan Mohammad Alam Shinwari said in a press conference on Thursday.

He confirmed that an individual identified as Imran was currently in police custody over his role in the lynching of the young student over blasphemy. A pistol had also been recovered from his person, the DIG said, before adding that the suspect had confessed his role in the murder.

Earlier on Thursday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Police Department informed the Supreme Court that it had formed a JIT to probe the murder of Mashal Khan.

Additional Advocate General KPK Waqar Ahmed appeared before a three-judge bench of the apex court, which had taken up the case suo moto. Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar presided over the bench. The AAG produced a progress report on behalf of Inspector General of Police (IGP).

According to the report, the Director General Prosecution (DGP) has constituted another three-member team to assist police in their investigations. This comprises the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mardan as convener and two Public Prosecutors of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). The DGP informed the bench that an additional 12 suspects had been arrested, bringing to 36 the total number of arrests so far. All suspects had been taken to the crime scene to account for their actions.

Confirming that the chief instigator in the murder was Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) employee Bilal Bakhsh, AAG Waqar stressed that he was in police custody. “Nine of the detained suspects are university employees. Four are in police remand while the other 32 are Central Prison Mardan.” He went on to tell the court that three key witnesses had already recorded statements while six defendants had submitted confessions before the Judicial Magistrate.

The case is adjourned for 15 days.