PESHAWAR: The police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arrested a Chinese national, working at the Dasu Hydropower Project in Upper Kohistan, on blasphemy charges after he allegedly insulted Islam and the prophet, authorities said Monday.
Under the blasphemy laws, the offence carries the death penalty.
Police identified the man only as Tian from China and said he was arrested on Sunday night, hours after hundreds of residents and labourers working on the project blocked Karakoram Highway and rallied to demand his arrest.
The rally took place in the town of Komela — located close to the site of the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, according to station house officer (SHO) Naseer ud-Din Khan.
Khan said officers quickly responded to the protests by “rescuing and arresting” the Chinese national. According to Khan, the accusations arose from a workplace disagreement: Tian allegedly became upset and reprimanded two local drivers for taking too much time from work to pray.
Other labourers then claimed he had insulted the prophet.
Police said Tian, who was in charge of heavy transport at the project, will be tried under blasphemy laws if investigators prove he insulted Islam. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.
The blocked highway later reopened to traffic and work resumed at the Dasu Dam, which has scores of Chinese and hundreds of Pakistanis working on the project, Khan said.
Rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
Videos circulating on social media showed an angry mob demonstrating outside a sprawling compound housing Chinese and Pakistani construction workers in Komela. The demonstrators can be heard chanting “God is great” as security forces fire shots in the air to disperse the crowds.
Although arrests of Muslims and non-Muslims on charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan, foreigners are rarely among those arrested.
In 2021, however, a mob lynched a Sri Lankan man at a sports factory in Punjab and later burned his body in public over allegations he desecrated posters bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
In July 2021, work on the Dasu Dam was suspended for several months following a deadly suicide attack targeting a bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani nationals in the Kohistan district. The bombing killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.
The Chinese resumed work on the project last year, when Pakistan enhanced security. Pakistani and Chinese engineers are trying to complete the project by 2026.
Monday’s developments came days after police in Punjab arrested a Muslim woman on charges of blasphemy after she allegedly claimed she was a prophet. She was taken into custody from her home after a mob had gathered outside demanding that she be punished after news spread of her alleged claims of prophethood.
