Saudi Crown Prince pardons Pakistanis jailed over Madinah incident

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has ordered to release Pakistanis who were imprisoned for sloganeering at Masjid-e-Nabi (PBUH) in Madinah during a visit by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this year in April.

The decision was made after a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his recently-concluded visit to the Kingdom.

The prime minister had requested the Saudi leadership to release the Pakistanis involved in the incident. He urged the Saudi Crown Prince to act with mercy and grant amnesty to the convicts out of compassion.

“May Allah Almighty reward you for this,” the prime minister said and thanked the crown prince for the gesture.

At least six Pakistani nationals were convicted of violating the sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabvi (PBUH) in Madinah during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia in April this year.

A court in Madina awarded eight-year jail terms to Khawaja Luqman, Muhammad Afzal, and Ghulam Muhammad, while six-year terms were handed out to Anas, Irshad, and Muhammad Saleem. The convicts were also fined 20,000 Saudi Riyals each.

The court also sentenced another Pakistani national Tahir Malik with three years imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 Saudi Riyals.

In April this year, a group of rowdy protesters chanted slogans against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and members of his delegation as they arrived at the mosque to pay their respects at the Roza-e-Rasool (PBUH).

Upon the arrival of the prime minister and his delegation, the protesters started chanting slogans of “chor, chor (thieves)”. They also harassed and raised objectionable slogans against PML-N Marriyum Aurangzeb.

The protesters also raised slogans and misbehaved with the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) chief and federal Minister for Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti. A group of protesters also filmed the entire episode with their mobile phones.

Political and religious leaders and people belonging to different sections of the society expressed their outrage at the incident and strictly condemned the chanting of political slogans the sacred place.

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