A Saudi Court on Thursday convicted six Pakistanis over desecrating the holy place Masjid-e-Nabavi by raising slogans against Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation.
Some protesters, allegedly belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), violated the sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabawi by loudly chanting slogans against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's delegation in Saudi Arabia.
A viral video had been circulating on social media platforms that showed hundreds of pilgrims raising "chor chor" [thieves] slogans upon seeing the delegation making their way to Masjid-e-Nabawi.
The Saudi court convicted six Pakistani out of which three Pakistanis were sentenced to jail for 10 years each and three Pakistanis were sentenced to jail for 8 years each, Pakistani local media outlet The News International reported.
According to the Saudi Court, all six were found guilty of blasphemy at Harm-e-Madina. Anas, Irshad and Muhammad Salim were sentenced to 10 years, while Khwaja Luqman, Muhammad Afzal and Ghulam Muhammad were sentenced to 8 years.
In a video, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and member of the National Assembly Shahzain Bugti were seen along with others.
According to the Pakistani newspaper, Aurangzeb indirectly blamed ousted 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," she said.
This came during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's maiden three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia. Dozens of officials and political leaders have accompanied the Pakistan Prime Minister on his visit to the Kingdom.
Moreover, the Madina court slapped 200,000 riyals fine on the six people and confiscated their mobile phones as they were found guilty of abusing Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and other ministers.
A statement issued by the Madina Police spokesperson said, "The legal process has been completed with the arrest of these Pakistanis and the matter has been referred to the appropriate authorities."
( With inputs from ANI )
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