Cleric, 3 others held for instigating people against Pak PM

Four persons, including a cleric, have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province for allegedly using derogatory language and instigating people against Prime Minister Imran Khan over his plan to set up 1,100 cinema halls in the country, the police said on Friday.

The cleric, Maulana Abdul Rauf Yazdani and his three followers were arrested on Thursday from Multan, about 300 kms from here, they said.

Yazdani had delivered a speech in a mosque in Multan allegedly instigating people against Imran Khan for his "plan to establish 1,100 cinema halls" in the country, according to the FIR.

He also slammed Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry for defending "drinking", besides criticising a proposed bill on allocation of quota for the non-Muslims in the jobs of Islamic studies teachers.

Police said that his three followers were arrested for recording the cleric's speech on their mobile phones and uploaded it on their Facebook accounts.

On Sunday last, the Federal Investigation Agency had arrested television talk show host and journalist Rizwan Razi for allegedly uploading "defamatory and obnoxious" posts against the judiciary, government institutions and intelligence agencies.