Man arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 15 (IANS): A Christian man was arrested by police here 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.

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

Ahmed 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.