A Chinese man in Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been taken into protective custody after he was accused of desecrating the holy Quran, officials say.
The man, named only as Mr Lee, works for a Chinese consortium that is building a dam in Kashmir.
A police official said that Lee was held to prevent him from being lynched by an angry mob.
Allegations of blasphemy are taken very seriously in Pakistan with a number of controversial recent prosecutions.
The AJK police chief has assembled a committee of officials, politicians, local clerics and journalists to investigate the matter. The police have not yet registered a case, saying they will wait for the committee’s report.
This is the first time a foreigner has been accused of desecrating holy scriptures under Pakistani law.
Mob of ‘hundreds’
An official in Muzaffarabad, close to where the alleged incident took place, said that the accusation was linked to a dispute which had taken place between Lee and a local doctor hired by the consortium.
Last week Lee told the doctor, named as Dr Sajid, to relocate from one room to another in the workers’ quarters of the compound, according to Muzaffarabad administration chief Ansar Yaqoob.
When Dr Sajid refused, Lee got some local people to take Sajjad’s luggage out when he was not in the room, according to Yaqoob.
Dr Sajid then told other employees that a copy of the Quran and some other religious books in his luggage were “thrown out” of his room.
Neither Lee nor Dr Sajid could be reached for a comment.
Police said the local employees became angry, and were later joined by “hundreds” of residents of nearby villages.
An eyewitness said they stoned the compound, damaging some parts of the building and several vehicles.
Allegations of blasphemy and desecration of holy texts have frequently led to alleged offenders being killed by lynch mobs in Pakistan.
In 2011, two prominent politicians who spoke out against the blasphemy laws were assassinated in Pakistan.
Being our 'All weather' friend, china is allowed to insult our Prophet(PBUH) and his book, In fact being our 'All Weather' friend china can also torture,kill chinese-mulsim brothers and restrict their right to pray in china!
What is more shocking is how a chinese national working in pakistan, the work for which the chinese company is making millions of $$$ from us, treats a pakistani doctor, one can imagine the disdain they have for poor laborers.
Seem like the khais have decided to stop being part-time girlfriend of USA and decided to become full time chinese concubine!
Shame on us!
Obvious indian troll.
You've openly made anti pakistan comments under the same id before
http://www.pakistantoday.mbt.pk/2013/04/27/news/n…
http://dawn.com/2013/03/08/for-many-pakistanis-ch…
http://www.pakistantoday.mbt.pk/2013/02/02/news/n…
Really shame on you for making such ignorant remarks. Any sensible person will wait for an investigation before jumping to conclusions unless you have personally witnessed anything. We all know too well how "Jahil" ppl in this country use these laws against non muslims to settle personal greivances and disputes. In this case there was an altercation between the accuser and the accused. So bang your head in the wall and have some coom sense before inciting violence in the name of a peaceful religion………
HAHAHAH LET US SEE WHAT THE GHAIRAT BRIGADE OF PAKISTAN DOES NOW ??????? REMEMBER CHINA IS YOUR NEW AB OOO AFTER USA HAS DISOWNED U
Dr Sajid has started something he may later live to regret.
He is most likely simply a case of a man becoming annoyed at being ejected from his room.
ISI should look into Dr Sajid's mental state and possible links to enemies of the State.
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