Imran Khan denies role in Prophet’s Mosque incident, calls it public reaction

Islamabad: Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has denied any involvement or role in an incident at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina when people shouted at and abused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s on Thursday.

In an interview with a private news channel, Imran Khan however, said it could be a “public reaction” as people were not ready to accept an “imported” government.

On April 28, a group of Pakistani protesters chanted slogans and hurled threats and abuses at cabinet ministers and leaders of various political parties of Pakistan when they arrived for prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque. They were accompanying Sharif during his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia.

Khan, while replying to a question, said he did not need to prove to anyone his love for Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). “I am the one who has spoken about Islamophobia at every forum around the world,” said the former premier.

Khan said he could not even imagine asking someone to settle political scores at that sacred place.

However, instead of condemning the incident he described it spontaneous public outrage against the “foreign conspiracy” that resulted in “regime change” in Pakistan.

A number of video clips had gone viral on social media. In one of these, a person is seen pulling the hair of anti-narcotics minister Shahzain Bugti’s hair.

Even obscenities were hurled at Information Minister and a vocal leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Aurangzeb, however, did not lose her cool and was seen smiling in the footage and waving her hand in reply to those words of abuse.

The incident led to public anger and people demanded action against the perpetrators. A case was registered in Faisalabad against Imran Khan, former Interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, ex-Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Sahibzada Jahangir, Dr Shahbaz Gill and others.

A local citizen of Faisalabad, Mohammad Naeem, lodged the FIR which stated, “The incident at Masjid-i-Nabwi was carried out under a planned and thought out scheme and conspiracy”.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday detained former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafique, who is Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Rawalpindi, and was reportedly in the Prophet’s Mosque when the incident took place.

The FIA detained him at the airport and took him away for questioning. In a video footage which is taking rounds on social media, it can be seen that Rashid Shafiq is standing in the Prophet’s Mosque and expressing his support for hooliganism.