It is unusual for people accused of blasphemy to be granted bail in Pakistan. According to a Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) annual fact sheet, at least 2,120 people had been accused of committing blasphemy between 1987 and 2022. In 2022, at least 171 people were accused of committing blasphemy with 65 per cent of the cases being reported from Punjab while 19 per cent being reported from Sindh. Among 171 people, 88 were Muslims, 75 Ahmadis, four Christians, and two Hindus, while the identities of the others could not be ascertained.

The Chinese man working on the Dasu hydropower project was taken into police custody on April 17 after an angry mob gathered outside his office to attack him, for allegedly making blasphemous remarks during a workplace argument.

The engineer allegedly made blasphemous remarks during a workplace dispute about the slow pace of work during Ramzan, the Islamic month of fasting.

In the previous hearing, the court had ordered the joint investigation team to submit a report and produce eyewitnesses in the next hearing.

During the hearing on April 27, the lawyers representing the Chinese man denied the blasphemy allegations.

The JIT also presented the statements of the Chinese national and accusers to the court, Dawn reported.

The court noted the accusers could not provide evidence supporting their allegations against the accused. The judge also noted the interpreter of the Chinese man, Yasir, whose claims ignited the incident, was 35-40 feet away from the Chinese national. He had assumed that the Chinese man had uttered sacrilegious remarks.

The court ruled that the case was registered on the basis of a misunderstanding.

Granting bail to the Chinese man, the court ruled there was not sufficient evidence to prove the accused had committed blasphemy.

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The Chinese man working on the Dasu hydropower project was taken into police custody on April 17 after an angry mob gathered outside his office to attack him, for allegedly making blasphemous remarks during a workplace argument.

The engineer allegedly made blasphemous remarks during a workplace dispute about the slow pace of work during Ramzan, the Islamic month of fasting.

The Chinese engineer has denied the accusations levelled against him by his fellow workers. He is currently in 14-day judicial custody.

Dawn reported the court also ordered the JIT to produce witnesses and the accused on April 27.

Headed by additional SP (headquarters) Jamil Ahmad, the JIT didn’t present the Chinese man in the court, citing “security concerns” as the reason.

Judge Sajjad Ahmad Jan directed the JIT to record the statement of the main witness in the case and Chinese-Urdu translator, Yasir Ali, whose claims ignited the incident.

Earlier, Yasir Ali had said that he was “doubtful” of what sacrilegious remarks the foreigner had uttered during police interrogation.

The witnesses could also not attend the hearing, according to their lawyer Mohammad Yusuf, who told the court that his clients were absent as the Karakoram Highway was blocked in the Upper Kohistan district.

The main complainant in the case, Kamila SHO Naseeruddin, produced records in court.

Lawyers Atif Ali Jadoon and Mohammad Arif Masud and the deputy public persecutor appeared in the hearing on behalf of the Chinese man.

Clerics Maulana Attaur Rehman, Maulana Waliullah Tohidi, Maulana Malik Umar, Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul Jabbar, who decided to represent Kohistan residents in the case, were also present during the hearing.

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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.

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