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.
