PESHAWAR: A key suspect in the Mashal Khan lynching case has been arrested.
Khan, a journalism student at Abdul Wali Khan University in the north-western Pakistani district of Mardan, was accused of blasphemy and lynched by a mob that included members of political parties, university staff members and students. An investigation later found the blasphemy claims to be false.
Muhammad Arif, an elected councilor representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is allegedly one of the ringleaders behind the killing in April 2017.
District police officer Dr. Mian Saseed said that Arif was arrested on March 8 in the Chamtar area near Mardan Ring Road.
“He had gone to Turkey, and when we received intelligence-based information that he had arrived back in the district, our special operation team raided Chamtar area and arrested Arif,” he added.
Saseed said that two other suspects were still at large and raids were being carried out to track them down.
On February 7, the anti-terrorism court announced verdicts in the cases of 52 defendants in the case. One was sentenced to death, 25 were jailed for four years and 26 were acquitted.
The 25 sent to prison were released on bail by the Peshawar High Court on February 27. They had petitioned the court on the grounds that Pakistani law states that prisoners sentenced to less than five years can be set free on bail.
Mashal’s father, Iqbal Khan, praised Mardan police for their efforts in the case, but said the guilty must be properly punished.
“52 people were arrested and today another prime suspect has also been rounded up but there are influential people on the back of these accused,“he said. “We need to expose those influential people as well.”
Khan added that a petition had been filed calling for a review of the Abbottabad bench’s decision to release on bail the 25 people jailed.
“There is a provision of law under which those sentenced to less than five years in prison can be released on bail but this provision cannot be applied here because in this particular case, the accused were already sentenced by the anti-terrorism court,” he said.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf councilor arrested by police investigating lynching of student Mashal Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf councilor arrested by police investigating lynching of student Mashal Khan
Pakistan sells 480MHz for $507 million in 5G spectrum auction
- Mobile network operator Jazz buys 190 MHz, Ufone 180MHz and Zong 110MHz, says telecom authority chairman
- Most mobile networks in Pakistan currently operate on fourth-generation (4G) infrastructure, while 5G rollout has faced delays
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sold 480 megahertz (MHz) of fifth-generation (5G) telecom spectrum for $507 million, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed after a live auction on Tuesday, marking a key step toward introducing faster mobile broadband.
The live auction was organized by the PTA to determine which telecom operators would acquire the frequencies needed to deploy 5G mobile networks across Pakistan.
Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, is one of the world’s largest telecom markets by population, with over 190 million mobile phone users. However, most networks currently operate on fourth-generation (4G) infrastructure, and the rollout of 5G has faced delays in recent years due to regulatory, economic and spectrum-allocation challenges.
“In total out of 595 MHz, 480 MHz spectrum has been sold today,” PTA Chairman Hafeez-ur-Rehman said in a speech aired on state media. “This is a very big achievement and a big victory for Pakistan, in my opinion.”
Chinese mobile operator Zong bought 110 MHz of the 5G spectrum, while Ufone bought 180 MHz and Veon-backed firm Jazz bought 190 MHz, Rehman announced.
“And the price in total for this is $507 million,” the PTA chairman said.
According to officials, 5G services are expected to be rolled out first in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta cities, before expanding nationwide as network infrastructure develops.
Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja has previously said the government is also encouraging wider adoption of 5G-compatible devices, noting that about 95 percent of mobile phones used in
Pakistan are locally manufactured, while premium models such as iPhones and Google Pixel devices are imported.
Officials say Pakistan currently uses around 274 megahertz of spectrum, much of it allocated decades ago, while the new auction will make 600 megahertz of spectrum available for next-generation services.
Under the government’s rollout plan, telecom operators are expected to add roughly 3,000 new network sites annually to support the expansion of 5G services.
PTA officials say Pakistan currently offers some of the world’s cheapest mobile data services and have pledged that consumer protection will remain a priority as the country moves toward next-generation connectivity.
