Storiya Khan Mashal, the sister of Mashal Khan, has earned a degree in biomedical engineering from New York and has dedicated it to her brother who was killed by an extremist mob on the premises of his university in Mardan.

She posted photos from the graduation ceremony saying she has graduated from The State University of New York - University at Buffalo with a degree in Biomedical Engineering.

Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York.

Storiya wrote, “I dedicate my degree to “Mashal Khan” the Martyr of Knowledge”.

Ziauddin Yousafzai, rights campaigner and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai’s father also felicitated Storiya Khan Mashal on her achievement.

He said her resilient spirit and dedication to education are an inspiration to all. She dedicated her achievement to Mashal Khan and all Afghan girls fighting for their right to education.

Mashal’s brutal lynching by an extremist mob on April 13, 2017, was instigated by rumors that he had committed blasphemy by posting sacrilegious content online.

The 23-year-old was beaten to death on the premises of his university, with the barbaric incident caught on video and later circulated on social media. The cruelty shocked not just Pakistan but the entire world and sparked a debate on the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

In June 2017, a 13-member joint investigation team concluded that the allegations of blasphemy against Mashal Khan were unfounded and were used as a pretext to incite a mob against him.

At least 57 people were apprehended and on February 07, 2018, the ATC sentenced the prime suspect to death while five others to 25 years imprisonment in the case.

ATC acquitted 26 suspects and awarded three years of jail term to 25 other accused in the case.

Multiple appeals were filed by the KP government and Mashal Khan’s father seeking reversal of the acquittal of 28 of the accused and an increase in the sentences of 25 of the convicts who were awarded three years’ imprisonment, and those of seven others who were handed down life imprisonment.

In January 2022, the Supreme Court of Pakistan accepted hearing a set of appeals by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government seeking to enhance the sentences of the convicts involved in Mashal’s lynching.