Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza clashes with Imran Riaz over Imran Khan

Religious scholar and popular cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza has hit back at YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan for criticising him over his opinions about former Premier Imran Khan. 

In a video posted on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Mirza denounced Riaz’s allegations that he had attacked Imran Khan’s personal character and clarified that he was talking about the political character of the jailed ex-Prime Minister. 

“I had talked about Imran Khan’s political character in terms of his U-turn; however, you [Imran Riaz] misinterpreted it as a personal attack on Imran Khan,” he clarified.

Ten days back, former TV host Imran Riaz had accused Mirza of the character assassination of Imran Khan in his vlog. “You [Engineer Mohammad Ali Mirza] are doing character assassination of Imran Khan. Have you looked into his heart to see how close he is to Allah,” questioned Riaz. 

While demanding an apology from Riaz, Mirza accused the latter of being involved in facilitating the disappearance of civilians with the assistance of former intelligence chief General (retd) Faiz Hameed.

Responding to Riaz's claims, the religious scholar pointed out that he had publicly condemned the attack on former premier Imran Khan during a PTI convoy in Wazirabad in 2023, adding that he had also spoken about the February 8, 2024, general elections in Pakistan.

Asserting that Riaz has deliberately crafted a controversy to divert public attention and not be labeled an “absconder”, Mirza advised his students not to fall victim to the half-truth information spread by the former TV host through his vlogs.

Mirza explained, “In the 2013 election, I not only voted for Imran Khan but also got 1,000 people to vote for him,” adding that when Imran Khan climbed onto a containers in 2014 [for a sit-in], he distanced himself from PTI, understanding that the party had aligned itself with the establishment.

In response to Mirza's statement, Riaz posted his own vlog on Wednesday, stating that Mirza was very eager to meet Imran during his premiership in 2020-2021. He also called out Mirza for being a “hypocrite.”

Meanwhile, the religious scholar concluded his response by saying that he was ready to entertain ex-TV host Aftab Iqbal’s offer to address the row on Skype. “I accept the offer; now, don’t run away,” Mirza challenged the YouTuber.

The verbal clash began after the former TV host uploaded a vlog on his YouTuber Channel 10 days ago, lambasting a short clip of Mirza in which the latter gives his opinion on a vast range of issues in Pakistani politics.

Mirza, a resident of Machine Mohallah of Jhelum City, maintained that the clip on which Riaz did a vlog decrying him was actually recorded months ago.