Christian man arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan

He allegedly made provocative remarks about the Holy Prophet and also repeated them, when confronted.

This March 27, 2016 file photo shows Pakistani Christian women praying during an Easter service in Lahore. The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death.

A Christian man was arrested by police in Pakistan’s Gujrat province on charges of blasphemy, the media reported on Saturday.

The police on Friday arrested the man, who belongs to Kharian tehsil and works as a sweeper at a private hospital, after Nadeem Ahmed, the owner of an electric shop in Dinga town, registered a case against him for uttering provocative remarks about the Holy Prophet, Dawn online reported.

Mr. Ahmed said in his complaint that his friend Ishtiaq Ahmed Jalali had on Thursday told him about the remarks.

He also repeated the remarks

The shop owner claimed that when he spoke to the sweeper to verify the allegation, he repeated the remarks.

The police moved the suspect to another location instead of keeping him in the lock-up after rumours began to circulate that religious groups intended to attack the police station.

Gujrat Superintendent of Police Maaz Zafar visited Dinga after the complaint.

He told Dawn that the situation was under control and the police were patrolling the town.