Saudi authorities have detained Pakistani pilgrims who confronted and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation at Masjid-e-Nabwi (PBUH) in Madina. However,Saudi authorities did not confirm the arrest of Pakistani pilgrims
The spokesperson of the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad confirmed the development on Friday, saying that some of the Pakistani protesters were arrested for violating the regulations and disrespecting the holy place.
The premier arrived in the holy city of Madina on Thursday on a three-day official visit with his cabinet members and parliamentarians.
Angry protesters, apparently supporters of the PTI, gathered around PM Shehbaz and his delegation and shouted slogans of “thieves” and “beggars” – one of the pictures captured on the scene showing the premier sitting in a vehicle visibly perturbed by 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.
Earlier today, Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah said that the government would request Saudi Arabia to take appropriate action against those who used inappropriate language and manhandled the minister in the premises of Masjid-e-Nabwi (PBUH).
Addressing a press conference along with Adviser to PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, he said the interior ministry had sought advice from the law department about taking legal action against the culprits.
The law ministry had also been asked to assist that whether cases could be filed here in Pakistan, he said.
He said violating the sanctity of the holy mosque was a “shameful act”. “What happened in Madina last night was saddening and badly damaged our image,” he said.
Sanaullah said the act was pre-planned in Pakistan at the behest of former prime minister Imran Khan and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed were making efforts to provoke public sentiments against their rivals, he said.He said Imran should refrain from spreading anarchy and hatred in the country only to achieve his political objectives. Such things were not useful for parliamentary system, he added.
The minister said the incident was pre-planned and it was not difficult to stage a protest with the help of 50-100 people.
He said Federal Minister Shahzain Bugti was physically assaulted while protesters also harassed and misbehaved with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.
“My ministry is going to make a humble request to the Saudi government to take appropriate action in this regard so that such behaviour is controlled. We will also apprise them that the whole nation passed through a stressful period when they came to know what happened at the holy mosque.”
Sanaullah said Saudi authorities would be requested to identify the culprits through CCTV footage and share details with Pakistan so that appropriate action could be taken against them.
He said these culprits should be sent back and they should not be allowed to stay there. Such elements did not deserve to be at holy places as it could cause religious disharmony here.