Chinese man arrested in Pakistan for 'blasphemy' after remarks on Ramadan: Report
The accused Chinese engineer reportedly made remarks about “the slow pace of work” amid the ongoing Ramadan month, which angered the mob.
The Pakistan police on Sunday evening arrested a Chinese engineer on blasphemy charges for allegedly “insulting Allah” as per a report. An unnamed employee of a construction company – China Gezhouba Group, got into a heated argument about “the pace of work” amid Ramadan, infuriating Pakistani labourers who tried to attack him, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
Following the incident, he was taken into custody from the worksite camp located at the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“He was taken into custody to avert a serious situation…as scores of workers had gathered to attack him,” SCMP reported quoting local sources.
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The altercation reportedly took about the workers’ pace of work during Ramadan – the ongoing holy month of Islam, in which Muslims observe month-long fasting. As the news of his alleged “blasphemous” remarks spread across the region, hundreds of people gathered and blocked the Karakoram Highway – linking Pakistan-China.
Following the incident, Pakistan police and paramilitary forces were deployed to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals working on the dam, the report further said. The protestors only dispersed after assurance from the authorities that the engineer would face legal punishment for his comments.
In the aftermath of the incident, the local religious leaders will decide today whether to file a blasphemy complaint with the police, which if proven can carry a potential death sentence, the report added.
