Remembering Mashal

Two years after his death, we should have been able to remember Mashal Khan, bludgeoned to death by his peers on the campus of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, as a young man whose death made us aware of the growing dangers of intolerance, and compelled the state to take action against it. We cannot do so. Today, the death of 23-year-old Mashal is remembered essentially as an act of brutality by a mob of students. We have not looked deeper at the retrogressive forces in society which permitted this to happen or the kind of frenzy which drove forward the mob of young men, who had been manipulated by university administration angered by Mashal’s attempts to ensure a fair deal for students. His father, Iqbal Khan, continues to demand true justice for his son rather than the mere conviction of a few men. Of the 59 arrested after Mashal’s death, one has been awarded the death penalty, five life imprisonment, 25 four-year jail sentences and 26 have been acquitted. A few weeks ago, a local government official associated with the PTI and another individual were also awarded life imprisonment for inciting the mob.

But what does this mean in real terms? Has it made any difference in our lives? Has it stopped other students and professors from being targeted on campuses around the country for daring to speak out? Has it built an understanding that we must ensure greater tolerance and greater harmony amongst our people? Only last month, at a college campus in Bahawalpur, a student killed his professor for attempting to organise what the student termed an ‘un-Islamic’ welcome party for new students. The killer is believed to have links with a Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan leader who may have encouraged him to act as he did. At other campuses, professors have been forced out of jobs for expressing dissenting views, students have faced discrimination for attempting to organise events that challenge the established narrative and fear walks alongside young men and women as they step into their classrooms. This is not conducive to any society which seeks change and growth and progress. The terrible manner in which Mashal was beaten to death appeared not to have moved the state either. There has been no official effort to put in place measures which could help move young people away from the dangerous patterns of violent behaviour that have become the norm. The lack of tolerance in society is exhibited by various events, including the irrational – and violent – narrative against the Aurat March. Movements which could challenge the status quo have been crushed or silenced. This is the reality Mashal Khan attempted to fight against. The state has failed him by not carrying forward his mission.