An FIR was lodged on Sunday against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and other top brass of the party in Faisalabad.
According to the report, the charges are brought against the leadership for involvement in the incident at Masjid-e-Nabwi, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and federal ministers were ridiculed by some Pakistani pilgrims.
The charges have been registered under Sections 295, 295-A, 296, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, also referred to as ‘blasphemy laws’. The sections relate to harming a place of worship with intent to insult a religion, deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious sentiment, disturbing religious assembly and abetment.
PTI leaders named in the FIR include; Imran Khan, Shahbaz Gill, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Fawad Chaudhry, Qasim Suri, Sahibzada Jahangir, and Aneel Musarrat.
In the wake of the incident in Saudi Arabia, arrests will be made in Faisalabad against prominent leaders, in a case registered against more than 150 people.
The complainant Muhammad Naeem, a resident of Faisalabad, claimed that the incident at the holy site, videos of which went viral, was a "planned out scheme and conspiracy". He added that the videos shared on social media and speeches made by the PTI leaders prior to the coalition delegation’s visit were proof of the alleged crime.
According to a senior police officer, various cases have been registered against the PTI leaders in different cities of Punjab
After the FIR was filed, former interior minister Sheikh Rashid's nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq was taken into custody on arrival at the new Islamabad airport from Saudi Arabia.
As the nephew of the home minister returned on Sunday morning, officers in plain clothes along with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration staff took him into custody.
Shafiq, upset over the incident, was heard asking the name of the officer who arrested him in a video available with the Express News. Following his arrest, FIA immigration officials refrained from giving statements.
The former interior minister’s nephew was handed over to the Attock Police Station, as a case has also been registered within the jurisdiction at the request of a local citizen in the context of the Masjid-e-Nabwi incident.
PTI ready to ‘fight’
Reacting to the news of the FIR, ex-information minister Fawad Chaudhry said “bring it on we will fight it” in a tweet.PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, who has also been named in the case registered against top party leaders, also took to his official Twitter handle and said that the party was ready to fight the case.
It is pertinent to note here that Imran has distanced himself from the unruly incident. During an interview to a private TV channel that would be fully broadcasted on the first day of Eid, the deposed PM claimed that he could not even imagine of asking anyone to shout slogans at the holy site.
Unruly crowd taunts ministers in Madina
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his ministers on Thursday were stuck in Saudi Arabia’s Masjid-e-Nabwi (PBUH), located in the holy city of Madina, as some people, apparently, supporters of the PTI, gathered around them, shouting slogans of “thieves” and “beggars” – one of the pictures captured on the scene showing the premier sitting in a vehicle visibly perturbed over the incident.
In a series of videos doing the rounds on social media, the miscreants can be seen specifically targeting Narcotics Minister Nawab Shahzain Bugti, calling him a“shameless” and a “lota”. In fact, one of them even grabbed him by his hair. The minister then ran after that person but to no avail.
The second person to feel the fury of the enraged lot was Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. One of the miscreants could be heard shouting obscenities at her
The premier had arrived in the holy city of Madina on a three-day official visit with his cabinet members and parliamentarians.
As videos of the enraged crowd went viral on social media, participants faced condemnation from public figures who criticised the pilgrim’s abhorrent behaviour within one of Islam’s holiest sites.
Govt requests KSA to take action
Following the incident, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that the government will request Saudi authorities to take appropriate action against those who instigated the use of indecent language and behaviour within the premises of Masjid-e-Nabwi in Madina.
“Such elements should be deported as they must not be permitted to stay anymore on the holy land,” said the minister.
Sanaullah also accused former prime minister Imran Khan and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid for pre-planning the act.
“Imran Khan Niazi should refrain from spreading anarchy and hatred in the country only to achieve his political objectives,” Sanaullah said adding that the former premier was targeting state institutions for the same resolve.
