Pakistan strongly condemned on Friday an incident at Masjid-e-Nabwi involving Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet members, and urged Saudi Arabia to take action.
During a press conference, Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah stated that the nation was ashamed of the incident, in which PM Shehbaz’s delegation was greeted by derogatory slogans from Pakistani pilgrims on their arrival at the Grand Mosque in Madinah. He called for collective action against those involved.
“We have reached out to the Saudi Arabian authorities to secure the CCTV footage of the incident in a bid to identify the perpetrators and take action against them,” he said.
“We recommend the kingdom to expels such miscreants from the country.”
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Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media platforms where Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti appeared to be harassed, while Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb endured verbal abuse. The cabinet is on an official visit to the Kingdom, the prime minister's first foreign trip since assuming the role.
Protesters had recorded the incident on their mobile phones.
Meanwhile, Sanaullah also talked about corruption in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s 3.5-year rule. Referring to the allegations on former first lady Bushra Bibi’s friend Farah Khan of amassing massive wealth from 2018-2022, he pointed out that the largest transaction by Farah Khan was worth Rs820 million.
“This is besides the embezzlement done by her in the Ring Road case,” he said.
Sanaullah added that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated a probe against Farah Khan and pledged that no propaganda would be practised by the ruling party until the inquiry report of the case is released.
“Farah Khan is liable to respond to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the allegations raised against her,” he added.
NAB orders inquiry against Farah Khan
Talking about the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing, he noted that it was not being used to suppress political opponents and freedom of speech.
“We will protect the freedom of speech in Pakistan,” he said.
Speaking alongside Sanaullah, former Minister of Information Qamar Zaman Kaira said Imran Khan’s politics was fascist rather than democratic. He voiced fear that it would lead to polarisation among the public and in government departments of the country.
He also questioned why the Lahore High Court’s verdict pertaining to the oath-taking of Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz was not implemented.