The verdict of the Mashal Khan case was a ray of hope for Pakistanis who had given up on the idea that people wrongly accused of blasphemy will ever get justice. The verdict proved that anyone involved in such an act would be severely punished by the judicial system; however, judicial precedents do not ensure a change in attitude right away. This not only involves the mob ready to take law into their own hands but also the police force and investigation agencies who misuse their authority especially in cases of blasphemy. A case in point is the eighteen year old, Patras Masih, accused of committing blasphemy in Lahore along with his cousin, Said Masih.
The first injustice in the case was arresting the cousin merely for being related to a person accused of blasphemy. Those allotted with power in the system should be extremely careful to not misuse it. The case was registered against one person only. Arresting another individual was not only unfair but also against the law. The second injustice involves beating up suspects to get them to confess their crime. While this is a common practice used by the authorities and many even justify its use, it often leads to many innocent people confessing to crimes that they have not committed because they do not want to endure the torture anymore. They end up facing prison time and that itself is not the best experience in the world.
The third injustice in this case was humiliating them to the point that Sajid Masih jumped off the building to avoid being in such a compromised position. Each individual accused of any crime is guaranteed the right of a free trial by the court even if the person is being tried under the Anti-terrorism Act (ACA).
These injustices prove that people in power, especially those who are meant to abide the law and take action accordingly, do not let go of their personal biases and that affects the suspects. Stringent action should be taken against them. The investigation against the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ordered by the director general - if proves them guilty should lead to strict action. We first need to police the officials to ensure that they do not accommodate the mob and go against the law, in order to get the people to understand that they need to wait for an inquiry in such cases and let the system decide their fate.