JHELUM: The Punjab Police on Wednesday denied having Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in their custody, even as a blasphemy case was registered against the religious scholar at Jhelum City Police Station.
The development followed days of confusion over his status, with authorities earlier claiming he had only been detained under public order laws.
Until Tuesday, police officials had maintained that Mirza was not under arrest but had been placed in “preventive custody” under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance, citing threats of sectarian unrest. At the time, the police had stressed that no criminal case had been filed against him.
However, later that evening, an FIR was registered under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. Section 295-C prescribes the death penalty and fine for derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH), while Section 11 of PECA imposes up to seven years’ imprisonment and fines for material inciting sectarian, interfaith, or racial hatred.
According to the FIR, the complaint centered on a video allegedly uploaded to Mirza’s YouTube channel — which has more than three million subscribers — in which he was accused of using disrespectful language towards the Prophet (PBUH) and misrepresenting verses from Surah al-Nisa. The complainant said the clip was being widely circulated online.
Mirza had been taken into custody on Monday by Jhelum Police under the MPO, which allows authorities to detain individuals preemptively to protect public safety. Following the FIR, police also sealed his Qur’an-O-Sunnat Research Academy in Jhelum.
This is not the first time Mirza has faced such charges. In 2023, he was accused of blasphemy for allegedly insulting the Prophet (PBUH) and downplaying the non-Muslim status of Ahmadis, though those allegations were eventually withdrawn.
The case has reignited debate over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which rights groups and legal experts have long described as vulnerable to misuse, often inflaming sectarian tensions and placing accused individuals at risk of mob violence.
