The Chinese engineer who was arrested over blasphemy allegations in Kohistan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has denied the accusations levelled against him by his fellow workers. He was remanded in a 14-day judicial custody, as per a statement by the police.
The Chinese man was taken into police custody yesterday after an angry mob gathered outside his office to attack him, for allegedly making blasphemous remarks during a workplace argument.
The police had taken the employee of China Gezhouba Group Company into custody “to avert a serious situation”.
The engineer was accused of blasphemous remarks during a workplace dispute about the slow pace of work during Ramzan, the Islamic month of fasting.
People in protest had also blocked the Karakoram Highway, the sole overland road connecting Pakistan to China, as the news of the engineer’s alleged blasphemy spread to neighbouring villages.
The man was produced before an anti-terrorism court late Monday where he denied the blasphemy allegations. The court sent the man to jail on a 14-day judicial remand, reported US News.
In December 2021, Sri Lankan man, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, working in Pakistan for 11 years was lynched by a mob over blasphemy allegations.
Kumara was beaten, killed and later set on fire by a mob in Sialkot. An Anti-Terrorism Court awarded death sentences to six convicts.
Blasphemy law is often misused in Pakistan to settle personal disputes.
