A “blasphemy killing” at a university shocks Pakistan
The violence is a sign of rising intolerance on campuses
IN THE room of Mashal Khan, a student at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, a dusty town in north-west Pakistan, the late occupant’s handwriting is on almost every surface. Some of his scribblings in felt-tip pen are banal (“You beauty”) or crude (“Get your burger-flipping ass outta here”). But many hint at an idealistic and fiercely independent young mind: “Freedom is the right of every individual” and “Be crazy, curious and mad!” These were injunctions that Mr Khan, a journalism student, upheld—and that got him killed.
On April 13th Mr Khan was pulled from the room by a crowd of fellow students. The violence that followed, partially recorded on a mobile phone, was staggeringly brutal. The attackers shot Mr Khan twice, dragged his corpse through hallways, beat it with planks and stripped it naked.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Places of darkness"
Asia April 22nd 2017
- America first frightens South Korea, then tries to reassure it
- A tense election threatens Indonesia’s religious tolerance
- A “blasphemy killing” at a university shocks Pakistan
- Vietnam uses an old naval base to make new friends
- A new bill reveals the Japanese government’s authoritarian streak
- What the trials of migratory birds say about Asia’s development
From the April 22nd 2017 edition
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