Islamabad: Police in Medina have arrested five Pakistani nationals for “abusing and insulting” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Minister for Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti at the Prophet’s Mosque in the city.
Arrests were also made for insulting and abusing a woman and her companions of Pakistani nationality, reports said. The spokesperson for the Medina Police said the suspects were “referred to the competent authorities after legal procedures were completed against them.”
Earlier on Friday, Pakistan’s Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan condemned the disrespectful incident.
Rana Sanaullah said that the government would request Saudi Arabia to take appropriate action against those who used indecent language in the mosque and misbehaved with Pakistan’s ministers on a visit to the mosque.
The new government condemned the ousted prime minister Imran Khan and his supporters for sowing division.
Dozens of Khan’s supporters pumped their fists and hurled insults at Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, mobbing their political opponent as he visited one of Islam’s holiest sites — a rare scene of chaos at the shrine in Medina that drew public anger and condemnation back in Pakistan.
“This man [Khan] wants to destroy the society, this man has divided the nation, and this man is misguiding youths,’’ said the minister, demanding the Saudi government take action against those who accosted Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif.
“These [people] should be deported, so that we can also take action against these violators,’’ Rana Sanaullah added.
There was no comment on the issue from Saudi authorities. The official Saudi Press Agency reported Sharif’s evening prayers at the mosque in Medina without further details.
The minister said the interior ministry had sought law department’s advice on initiating legal action against the culprits who shouted slogans against the new government ministers in the mosque compound..
Shameful act
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 mosque was a “shameful act”. “What happened in Medina last night was saddening and badly damaged our image,” he said.
Rana Sanaullah said the act was pre-planned in Pakistan at the behest of 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 Khan 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 preplanned 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 Marriyum Aurangzeb was also harassed and misbehaved.
“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.” Rana 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.”
He said the former prime minister Imran Khan was also targeting institutions for this purpose. He said Imran Khan would have to answer people for his bad governance during the last four years. The minister said that Imran Niazi was staging various dramas aimed at safeguarding himself for possible several corruption scandals.
He said National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had ordered a reference against Farrah Khan - a front woman of Imran Khan. He said the entire nation stood with judiciary and Chief Elections Commissioner. The Cyber Crime Wing of FIA would not be utilized against freedom of expression or for political purposes, he added. He said capacity of Cyber Crime Department was being enhanced. Stern action would be taken against those who were running smear campaign against judiciary and armed forces on social media, he added.
