Weapons were recovered from the the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan on Monday, as the university's campuses reopened for the first time since Mashal Khan, a student at the university, was lynched by a mob on accusations of blasphemy.
Police conducted a search operation at the university's hostel early Monday morning and recovered guns, pistols and knives. Drugs were also seized from the hostel.
The university was closed down and hostels were vacated to avoid a further escalation of violence after the lynching incident. The university had remained closed for 40 days.
A day earlier, a gathering was held in Swabi to observe Mashal's chehlum. Members of civil society and leaders of political and religious parties present at a gathering called for giving exemplary punishment to the killers of Mashal.
The 23-year-old student of Mass Communication at the Abdul Wali Khan University was attacked by a vigilante mob, incited by rumours, for allegedly "publishing blasphemous content online". Mashal was brutally beaten and shot by the mob and succumbed to the injuries he received lat month.
Mardan police have so far arrested 53 suspects for involvement in Mashal Khan murder case, including the key suspect, Imran, who is suspected of having shot the student.
Police, however, are yet to arrest Arif Khan, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) councillor, who was seen warning a crowd not to name Mashal Khan's murderer after the student's lynching.
