Khanewal police on Monday booked and arrested a local cleric who declared himself the “11th Imam of Islam” a day earlier, on blasphemy charges.
He was booked under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance at the Thattha Sadiqabad Police Station in District Khanewal. According to the first investigation report (FIR), the police had carried out an intelligence-based operation against the accused after a video of him making the controversial claim in a private gathering went viral on social media. The man was arrested and sent to Multan Central Prison.
It is not clear why the man made the claim, or if he suffers from any mental impairment.
On Sunday, Abdullah Bin Moneeb went viral on social media when in a video he claimed to be the 11th Imam of Islam.
Quoting Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Abdullah said, “I, Imam Abdullah bin Moneeb, with the grace of God and kindness of the last Prophet (PBUH), announce that I’m the 11thKhalifa Rashid of Islam and anyone who opposes me and my followers will be damned.”
In the video, he was addressing a press conference on Friday from an unknown place. Abdullah claimed that Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) had predicted about him. He also quoted a Hadith in this regard. He said that he was also the guardian of the appearance of Imam Mahdi. He also invited the youth of Pakistan to join him for the uprising of Islam, urging them to take ‘bayt’ (oath of allegiance) to him otherwise they would be effused of Islam.
He said the sacrifices of innocent people of Kashmir, Palestine and other countries would not go waste. He warned the people not to humiliate or ridicule him, his family and the people related to him. He also asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa to follow him otherwise God’s wrath was inevitable.
