LAHORE: Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested an Ahmadi minority man for "deceitfully marrying a Muslim woman" by concealing his faith and also uploading her objectionable pictures on social media.
FIA cybercrime wing Lahore had registered the FIR against Shahbaz Ashraf on a complaint of his wife, Hina Saeed, and arrested him last week. According to the FIA, the suspect contracted marriage with the complainant concealing his faith and fathered two children.
"The suspect also uploaded objectionable pictures of the complainant on social media. The FIA has recovered the pictures from his mobile phone at the time of arrest," it said. Ashraf filed a post arrest bail petition in the court on Tuesday which was denied by the sessions court Lahore.
The suspect's counsel told the court that his client solemnised nikah (marriage) with the complainant and he embraced Islam on April 1, 2021. He also presented a certificate to the effect. He said the complainant was still the wife of the petitioner/suspect and the offences included in the FIR were not committed.
He also denied uploading any objectionable material on social media with regard to the complainant. Opposing the bail petition, a counsel for the complainant said the suspect being an Ahmadi contracted a second marriage with the complainant by concealing his faith for nine years.
He said the suspect embraced Islam in 2021, therefore, a criminal offence was made out.
Denying the bail, Additional District and Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain observed that "sufficient incriminating material is available on record against the petitioner. The petitioner has also been found guilty in the FIA investigation. I am not inclined to grant post-arrest bail to the petitioner".
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.
In Pakistan, around 10 million out of the 220 million population are non-Muslims.