Khanewal police on Monday booked and imprisoned a fake pir on charges of committing blasphemy.

The man — who had claimed to be the "eleventh caliph of Islam" in a private gathering — was booked under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance at the Thattha Sadiqabad Police Station in District Khanewal.

According to details in the first investigation report (FIR), police had carried out an intelligence-based operation against the accused after a video of him making the controversial claim in a private gathering went viral on social media.

According to the FIR, the accused had claimed in the video that news of his arrival had already given by Sufi saints and that the prime minister and army chief should take swear their allegiance to him.

It is not clear why the man made the claim, or if he suffers from any mental impairment.

According to the police, he has been arrested and sent to the Multan Central Prison.