Controversial Pakistani cleric arrested under Maintenance of Public Order

A controversial Pakistani cleric was on Tuesday arrested for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance in Punjab province following a complaint against him.

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza was detained by police in Jhelum city of Punjab, Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Meesam Abbas said.

Abbas told the media that the cleric was arrested under Section 3 of the MPO ordinance, which empowers authorities to detain suspected persons to prevent "any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety" or to maintain public order.

The action was taken after a religious group filed a complaint against Mirza on Monday, seeking legal action for alleged controversial remarks made by him during an interview.

Mirza, who is a qualified engineer by profession, left his profession years back to launch a freelance career in religion and earned fame by giving sermons and lectures on social media, where he has more than three million followers on YouTube.

A resident of Machine Mohallah of Jhelum city, Mirza has been courting controversies due to his orthodox religious views. He faced a barrage of criticism from clerics of different sects.

Last year, he was among 17 clerics whose speeches were banned during Muharram to prevent any potential sectarian violence. He also survived an assassination attempt at a religious academy in March 2021, and the suspect was taken into custody.