Man arrested for allegedly attempting to kill Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in Jhelum

2026-02-16 - 08:56

JHELUM – A 26-year-old man from Abbottabad has been arrested for allegedly attempting to kill Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza at the City Police Station, Jhelum. A case has been registered against him under Section 324 (attempt to murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the police report, the alleged attack took place at Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza’s academy, the Quran-o-Sunnat Research Academy, during a Sunday photo session held after a lecture. The suspect reportedly threw Engineer Mirza’s turban (imamama) to the ground and attempted to strangle him with both hands. The FIR states that the attacker shouted slogans linked to a religious-political party during the incident. People present at the scene restrained the suspect and handed him over to police officers on duty at the academy. Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza has previously survived two attacks: one in March 2021 involving a knife, which injured his arm, and another in 2017. Last year, he was also briefly detained over a blasphemy allegation but was released on bail from Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, in December 2025. According to Mirza’s lawyer, Muhammad Tahir Ayubi Advocate, the academy conducts regular Sunday teaching and Q&A sessions attended by participants from across Pakistan. The academy has a policy allowing a participant to attend only once, to accommodate more attendees. CCTV footage reviewed by police and academy staff shows that the suspect entered the academy at 9:00 am on Sunday and remained alone until the session, which ran from 10:00 am to around 11:30 am. After the session, he entered a room designated for taking photographs with Engineer Mirza and requested an academy staff member to take his picture. As he approached Engineer Mirza, the suspect suddenly attacked him, attempting to strangle him. The commotion drew people from inside and outside the hall, who restrained the attacker and handed him over to police. Following the incident, the academy temporarily locked all doors and conducted individual checks of attendees to ensure no accomplices were present. The local police confirmed that the suspect’s identity card was recovered, verifying his age as 26 and his origin from Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Relief for YouTuber Engineer Ali Mirza in Blasphemy Case