Pakistani jailed for sloganeering against Shehbaz Sharif at Masjid-e-Nabwi
Jun 10, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], June 10 : In the Masjid-e-Nabwi mosque incident where pilgrims raised derogatory slogans against Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and his delegation in Medina, Saudi Arabia, a Saudi court has sentenced a Pakistani to three years in prison.
The incident took place when Shehbaz was on a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, his maiden visit to the Middle East country. The PM was with his delegation seeking an additional package of USD 3.2 billion from the Arab country. During his visit to the Masjid-e-Nabwi mosque, a group of pilgrims chanted slogans, calling them "chor."
A fine of 10,000 riyals is also been slapped against the Pakistani, Muhammad Tahir. Apart from Tahir, there were several others who were involved in shouting demeaning slogans at the Prime Minister and his delegation, reported The Express Tribune.
During the visit of the Prime Minister, Tahir also made a video of the incident and uploaded it on social media. As soon as the video was uploaded, it went viral. As per the law, the convict can file an appeal within 30 days against the court's order.
There was one more video which surfaced online where the pilgrims were seen heckling and chanting abusive slogans against Pakistan's federal ministers Marriyum Aurangzeb and Shahzain Bugti. The duo were then escorted by Saudi guards. In another video, a pilgrim pulled Bugti's hair from behind.
Later, in a video message in response to the chants, Marriyum had said that the act was perpetrated by a "select group", while most Pakistanis respected the sanctity of the holy mosque.
According to a local media outlet, Aurangzeb indirectly blamed ousted former PM Imran Khan for the protest. "I will not name this person on this holy land because I do not want to use this land for politics. But they have destroyed the [Pakistani] society," said Aurangzeb, as per the media portal.
One of the Twitter users, Muhammad Ibrahim Qazi said that Saudi Arabia citizens are calling out ousted PM Imran Khan. "Citizens of Saudi Arabia are calling out ousted PM Imran Khan to have exported the moral obscenity to the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. They are also condemning Pakistanis for violating the Kingdom's laws," Qazi said.
