The case was filed by Punjab police against former international cricketer, who was ousted by the prime minister in April, several former cabinet ministers and key members of his Pakistani party, Tehreek-e-Insaf. Former ministers Fawad Chaudhry and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed are among those charged, Dawn reported. The complaint has been filed under the blasphemy law of Pakistan’s criminal code. It’s supposed to desecrate the Prophet’s mosque in the holy city of Medina, hooliganism and hurting the feelings of Muslims. The action against Mr Khan comes after several videos appeared on social media showing hundreds of people chanting slogans against Mr Sharif and his delegation when they arrived at the Al-Masjid-e-Nabawi mosque in Medina on Thursday. The videos showed people, reportedly pilgrims from Pakistan, shouting “thief” and “traitor” and uttering explicit words to Mr Sharif and his delegation. Authorities in Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that they had arrested five Pakistani nationals allegedly involved in the incident. Several social media users in Pakistan have been outraged by the blasphemy complaint against which activists have long been protesting, as anyone convicted under the law could face up to 10 years in prison or even imprisonment. death penalty. Although no one has been executed under the law, suspects are often attacked and sometimes killed by mobs. Asad Umar, a former minister in Khan’s cabinet, defended himself, calling the allegations “ridiculous”. The first information report (FIR), an official document for police charges against a defendant, was filed by a local Faisalabad resident. He claimed that more than 100 of Khan’s supporters had been sent to Saudi Arabia by Pakistan and the United Kingdom as part of a “planned and deliberate plot and conspiracy”. Mr Kahn has already denied involvement in the incident in Saudi Arabia. In an interview with ARY News, he said the public was angry after his government was ousted in a vote of no confidence last month. “This is the reaction of the public. “We do not ask them to go out,” he said in an interview. He also questioned the validity of the FIR and asked “how did they connect us with what happened in Medina”. In a separate comment to Dawn, he said: “I can not think of asking anyone to chant slogans in this sacred place. “No one who loves the prophet can even think of it.” Mr Sharif, who was sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan on April 11 by a majority, is the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif three times. Mr Kahn’s government was ousted after the joint opposition tabled a no-confidence motion in the country’s parliament after the Supreme Court intervened. Since then, Mr. Khan has held mass rallies with his supporters and allegedly baseless allegations of foreign conspiracy against him. Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan’s current interior minister, said Khan and his allies could be arrested if their involvement is proven, he told ARY News. “No one will be spared in this matter and the law will go its own way,” he said.
