Man arrested over charges of attacking Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in Jehlum

Police say attack occurred during a photo session held after a Sunday lecture at the Quran-o-Sunnat Research Academy

JHELUM: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb 16^th, 2026) A 26-year-old man from Abbottabad has been arrested for allegedly making an attempt to murder Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza at his academy in Jhelum. A case has been registered against the suspect under Section 324 (attempt to murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the City Police Station.

Police said the attack occurred during a photo session held after a Sunday lecture at the Quran-o-Sunnat Research Academy. The suspect reportedly threw Mirza’s turban (imamama) to the ground and tried to strangle him with both hands while shouting slogans linked to a banned religious-political group.

People present at the academy quickly restrained the attacker and handed him over to police officers on duty. Authorities recovered the suspect’s identity card, confirming he is 26 years old and a resident of Abbottabad.

Mirza’s lawyer Muhammad Tahir Ayubi said the academy holds weekly teaching and Q&A sessions, attended by participants from across the country. The academy follows a policy that allows each participant to attend only once to ensure wider access for others.

The CCTV footage reviewed by police and academy staff showed the suspect entering the academy at 9:00 am and remaining alone until the session began at 10:00 am. After the lecture, he entered a room designated for photographs with Mirza and requested an academy staff member to take his picture. As he approached Mirza, he suddenly attacked him.

The commotion drew attendees from inside and outside the hall, who subdued the attacker and handed him over to police. Following the incident, all academy doors were temporarily locked while staff and police conducted individual checks of attendees to ensure no accomplices were present.

The police said that Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza had survived previous attacks, including a knife assault in March 2021 that caused minor injuries to his arm, and another attack in 2017.

Last year, he was briefly detained over a blasphemy allegation but was released on bail from Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, in December 2025.