Islamic scholar Sheikh Irbard Ibrahim has described as “racial profiling”, the “wrongful” arrest, by Ghana’s security agencies, of 17 Pakistani Muslim evangelists in Assin Fosu in the Central Region.

The Pakistanis are currently being held by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

Speaking to ClassFMonline.com on the arrests, Sheikh Irbard said: “Even though Ghanaians should remain vigilant to forestall any attacks similar to those happening in neighbouring countries, selectively picking on adherents of a particular race or religion will complicate Ghana's counter-terrorism efforts, victimise Muslims and deter them from willingly volunteering information, if this fight is seen as being against Muslim missionaries and not Christians ones that fly into our country almost weekly to do one form of evangelism or another”.

“The innocent Pakistanis are only making good on an Islamic evangelical principle called "Khuruj" that urges Muslim scholars to travel far and wide to preach the message of Islam. Evangelism cannot be terrorism,” he said.

Ghana’s anti-terrorism alert has been heightened ever since al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacked the country’s western and northern neighbours Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, respectively, about a month apart. Prior to those two attacks which killed dozens of people of various nationalities at different hotels, there had been a similar attack in Mali in November last year.