Police denied Wednesday to keep the engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in custody after a FIR was filed against the academic religious of blasphemy for charges for a complaint filed before his so -called arrest.
Until Tuesday, Punjab police had maintained that the cleric was not under arrest and had been taken to the “preventive custody” in view of the threats of secretary violence under Section 3 of the Public Order Maintenance Ordinance (MPO). The police had insisted that there were no criminal charges against the engineer.
However, later that day, a case of blasphemy was presented against the engineer Mirza under section 295-C of the Pakistan Criminal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of the Electronic Crime Prevention Law (PECA) 2016.
Section 295-C of the PPC establishes that anyone, whether spoken or written, to make derogatory comments about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) will be punished by death and will also be fined.
Section 11 of Peca belongs to the preparation and propagation of any information through any vertical that motivates interreligious, sectarian or racial hatred will be punished with imprisonment for a period of up to seven years and also a fine.
Read: The engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza remained in ‘Preventive Detention’
Mirza was arrested by Jhelum police under section 3 of the MPO on Monday. According to section 3 of the MPO, the authorities have the power to arrest and detain the suspects to prevent “any person from acting in any way harmful to public safety” or to maintain public order.
According to the FIR, filed on Tuesday night at the Jhelum City Police station, the plaintiff alleged that there is an incriminating video of Mirza that circulates online that is disrespectful with the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The plaintiff also accused the cleric of making incorrect statements when referring to Surah al-Nisa in said video, also published on the Mirza YouTube channel.
Mirza’s YouTube channel has more than three million substitutions. He also directs a center, the Coran-O-Sunnat Research Academy, which was also closed by the Police.
Mirza was accused of blasphemy in 2023. He was accused of insulting the Holy Prophet (Pbuh) and minimizing the non -Muslim state of Ahmadis. The charges were removed later.
Blasphymia laws have long been a controversial issue in Pakistan, with repeated calls for the State to stop their misuse.
