Cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza gets bail in blasphemy case

• Case registered in Jhelum over blasphemy charge.
• Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan conducts bail hearing.
• Court directs submission of required surety bonds.

The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Wednesday approved the bail of cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in a blasphemy case.

Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan heard the bail petition and directed the cleric to submit two surety bonds of Rs500,000 each. The court issued the order after reviewing the case record and arguments presented by both sides.

During the hearing, the judge instructed that the mandatory sureties must be deposited before the bail takes effect.

A blasphemy first information report (FIR) had been lodged against Mirza in Jhelum, leading to his petition for protective relief.

The religious cleric was arrested on August 26 and moved to jail under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order, 1960 (MPO).

Section 3 of the MPO 1960, commonly known as 3-MPO, empowers the government to direct the arrest and detention of a person to prevent him from "acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order".

The police confirmed that the charges include provisions under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Mirza has at least 3.14 million subscribers on his YouTube channel with 2,400 videos.

In 2021, the cleric survived an assassination attempt and sustained injuries when he was stabbed with a knife by assailants during one of his weekly lectures.