Ramadan: Pak police arrest a Chinese engineer for his “blasphemous” remarks
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: For the first time, the Pakistan police on Sunday evening arrested a Chinese engineer of a construction company in the restive Khaiber-Pakhtunkhwa Province on charges of ‘blasphemy’ and ‘insulting Allah’ during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
The unnamed engineer of China Gezhouba Group’s construction company, working at a dam site, was accused of blasphemy and insulting Allah when he took exception to the “slow pace of work” during the Ramadan month, which angered the mob of laborers.
He got into a heated argument with the workers, who tried to attack him, the SCMP report said.
In recent months, angry Pakistanis, especially in Baluchistan, have attacked Chinese nationals in several cities, killing or injuring them.
After the fresh incident, Pakistan police and paramilitary forces were deployed to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals working on the dam site. The accused was taken into custody from the worksite camp located at the Dasu hydropower project.
“He was taken into custody to avert a serious situation…as scores of workers had gathered to attack him,” SCMP reported quoting local sources.
The altercation reportedly took about the workers’ pace of work during Ramadan – the ongoing holy month of Islam, in which Muslims observe a month-long fasting.
As the news of his alleged “blasphemous” remarks spread across the region, hundreds of people gathered and blocked the Karakoram Highway, which links Pakistan with China.
The protestors dispersed only after assurance from the authorities that the engineer would face legal punishment for his comments.
Now, the local religious leaders will decide whether to file a blasphemy complaint with the police, which, if proven, can carry a potential death sentence, the report added.
