A Chinese engineer supervising the construction of a dam in Pakistan has been placed under the protection of local police, after being accused of blasphemy by workers, we learned on Monday from a police source.
The issue of blasphemy is particularly sensitive in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of offense to Islam can result in killings and lynchings.
Ramadan month
The engineer, who works on the construction of the Dasu dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (Northwest), was accused of blasphemy on Saturday after noting the "slow
pace of work
" of Pakistani employees in this month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day.
“
The workers said they were fasting but denied that the work had slowed down, which led to a heated discussion
” with the supervisor, a police official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
“
Then the workers accused the engineer of making blasphemous remarks
” and nearly 400 locals gathered to protest, he added.
"
The Chinese national has been placed in a safe place as a precautionary measure
," Dasu police official Muhammad Nazir told AFP.
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The Dasu Dam is one of many infrastructure projects Chinese companies are working on in Pakistan, a country in which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in recent years.
Pakistani law, fiercely defended by Islamist parties, provides for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
However, no one convicted of blasphemy has been executed so far.
Opponents of this law accuse it of being used to settle personal conflicts or attack the rights of religious minorities.