An assassination attempt on famed Pakistani Islamic Scholar, Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, was foiled at his research academy in Jhelum after a man carrying a gun was caught by the security guard.
The Police said that the suspect concealed his gun inside a book by shredding its pages and placing it in a bag, and added that he tried to enter the academy where Mirza was delivering a lecture, after which the security man caught him.
According to the details, the Police has arrested the suspect, Mudassar Ashraf, who also confessed to the assassination attempt. An FIR has been registered against him, while a further probe into the incident is underway, the Police added.
It is pertinent to mention that Muhammad Ali Mirza has escaped several assassination plots, which result from his controversial religious statements.
In a similar incident, Police arrested a suspect who reportedly tried to attack Mirza with a sharp-edged dagger during his weekly sermon at an institute in March 2021. The incident left the Islamic scholar with a minor injury.
Note here that Jhelum Police detained Mirza on 4 May 2020 for committing hate speech against other religious scholars. However, he was released on 6 May of the same year.