A Chinese worker was charged with blasphemy in northern Pakistan after angry locals accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad, officials said
A large number of locals in the Barseen area of Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), had come out on the streets to demand the arrest of the Chinese national after the news of the alleged blasphemy spread.
The incident happened on Sunday night, when a local worker came back from ‘Isha Namaz’ prayer to the site of the Dasu hydropower project. He levelled allegations of blasphemy at the Chinese national.
Protesters gathered outside the Chinese workers’ camp in the area and pelted it with stones.
Pakistani security personnel reportedly fired shots in the air to deter the mob that was trying to march towards the camp in Kohistan.
Hundreds of vehicles were stuck for hours due to a road blockade, said sources.
The protesters dispersed after the Chinese national was taken into custody, they added.
Blasphemy is a crime under Pakistani law that can be punishable by death.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)-led Dasu hydropower project is a run-off river project on the Indus, located 7 km upstream of Dasu town, in Kohistan district.
The site is 74 km downstream of the proposed Diamer Bhasha Dam site and 350 km from Islamabad.
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