Engineer Mirza Assault Case: Attacker Taken Into Custody in Pakistan

Jhelum: Pakistani police arrested a guy for reportedly attacking clergyman Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, according to Dawn.

According to the FIR, the incident occurred in Jhelum at Mirza’s Qur’an-o-Sunnat Research Academy, when, according to the complainant Muhammad Kashif Qureshi, some lecture goers remained to snap photographs with Engineer Mirza. On Sunday, the accused reportedly assaulted the cleric with fists.

A man assaulted Engineer Mirza by grabbing his collar

“Just then, a man assaulted Engineer Mirza by grabbing his collar, punching him, and taking his turban. He aggressively hurled his respectable turban to the ground, strangled him with both hands to smother him, and chanted slogans,” the FIR cited Qureshi, as published by Dawn.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Jhelum Tariq Aziz Sindhu, the culprit has been apprehended and a FIR has been lodged under Section 324 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The police official also stated that an investigation is ongoing.

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According to the police officer

According to the police officer, the cleric had previously been beaten and was granted protective detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) by Jhelum’s deputy commissioner last year after an activist from the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) accused him of blasphemy.

Engineer Mirza was charged with blasphemy last year after posting a video on his YouTube account that allegedly featured disrespectful remarks about the Holy Prophet and misconstrued words from Surah al-Nisa. The complaint claimed that the words not only violated Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, but also gravely hurt religious sensitivities.

He was detained by Jhelum police under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act before being turned over to the Federal Investigation Agency.

Dawn reported that the cleric survived an assassination attempt in March 2021. Engineer Mirza routinely publishes his lectures on YouTube, where he has more than three million members.

Police and academy authorities emphasised that the attacker’s detention was a preventative action to ensure public order. Authorities are also investigating security methods for Mirza’s events to avoid such mishaps in the future.