Saudi forces arrest renowned Pakistani Shia scholar while performing Umrah Hajj

Saudi regime forces have arrested a prominent Pakistani Shia Muslim cleric in the holy city of Mecca while he was performing the Umrah Hajj (minor pilgrimage), as the House of Saud is pressing ahead with a heavy-handed crackdown against members of the religious community.

According to Press TV, a Twitter post published on Friday announced that the secretary general of Pakistan’s Shia Ulema (Scholars) Council and a senior official of Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP) political party had been detained in the kingdom.

The post did not provide any reasons for Seyyed Nazir Abbas Taqvi’s arrest; however, he could be seen in a picture holding a flag at the courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram – Islam’s holiest site, bearing the name of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH), the first Shias' Imam, in Arabic.

Many social media users took to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms as soon as the news of Taqvi’s detention broke, demanding his immediate and unconditional release.

They also called on Pakistani authorities, including the Foreign Office, to ensure the release of the renowned Shia Muslim scholar.

Saudi Arabia has stepped up politically-motivated arrests, prosecution, and conviction of peaceful dissident writers and human rights campaigners, in particular in Shia-populated and energy-rich Eastern Province.

On February 7, Saudi Arabia’s so-called Specialized Criminal Court handed down death sentences to Ali Muhammad al-Rabea and Ali Hassan al-Safwani on trumped-up terrorism charges.

This is while the Saudi prosecutor’s office had earlier called for a 20-year prison sentence as well as a travel ban to prevent them from leaving the country, according to a report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights.

ME