Pak lawmaker arrested for calling PM Khan's Special Assistant a member of Ahmadi minority community

A lawmaker from Pakistani's ruling party was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly calling a Special Assistant of Prime Minister Imran Khan as 'Qadani', a member of the Ahmadi minority community.

Pakistan's Parliament in 1974 declared the Ahmadi community as non-Muslims. A decade later, they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. They are banned from preaching and from travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.

Lahore Police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Nazir Chohan, who is part of the party's estranged Jahangir Tareen group, on the complaint of Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Special Assistant to the prime minister on Accountability and Interior.

Chohan is a legislator of Punjab Assembly.

''Police arrested MPA Nazir Chohan in connection with the FIR registered against him at the Racecourse police station, Lahore on the complaint of Shahzad Akbar,'' Punjab Police spokesperson Rana Arif told PTI.

Chohan has been shifted to the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to have his 'voice-match' with the video in which he was purportedly seen challenging the faith of Akbar, the spokesperson said.

Chohan in a TV talk show in May had claimed that Akbar is a ''Qadiani'' and challenged him to say on oath that ''he is a Muslim and not an Ahmadi''.

In response, Akbar filed a complaint with Lahore Police, which registered an FIR against Chohan on various charges, including making statements with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings and provoking to cause riot.

Akbar said Chohan's remarks about his religious beliefs have put his life at risk. ''Chohan tried to provoke religious hatred against me and put my life at risk,'' he said.

According to the FIR, "The offence has been committed to cause injury to the reputation, body, property and mind of the applicant and cause hatred in public at large towards the applicant. Chohan committed the offence with the nefarious design to wound the religious feelings of the applicant (Akbar).'' Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had expressed his support for Akbar.

"Using religion card for personal vendetta is despicable. Lahore Police must take strict action against Chohan for using third rated tactics," he had tweeted.

In Pakistan, around 10 million out of the 220 million population are non-Muslims.