Pakistan: Chinese engineer arrested for ‘blasphemy’ after he asks Pakistani employees to work sooner all through Ramzan

On Sunday, April 16, Pakistan police arrested a Chinese engineer working at a hydropower mission in Kohistan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province throughout the nation on accusations of blasphemy. The Chinese nationwide working in China Gezhouba Group Company was accused of ‘insulting’ Allah.

He had allegedly commented in regards to the sluggish tempo of labor by means of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan all through an argument alongside together with his Pakistani subordinates at his workplace.

#Pakistan Police in #KPK Province arrest a #China engineer accused of #blasphemy. A Pakistani worker claimed the Chinese scolded him for dodging work under pretext of #Ramadan prayers. Both work for the Dasu Dam hydroelectric gravity dam under constructing in Kohistan District. https://t.co/kRdNzge81x pic.twitter.com/0mPe0LxAjV

— Ahmed Quraishi (@_AhmedQuraishi) April 17, 2023

The accused, acknowledged in a correct criticism to the police by two Pakistani dumpster drivers as “Mr Tian, in charge of heavy machinery,” was detained by police late on Sunday from a residential camp for Chinese employees near Dasu, about 350 km north of Islamabad ‘to avert a serious situation.’

Dasu Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam under constructing in Kohistan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. China’s Gezhouba Group Company Limited has undertaken main civil works.

According to South China Morning Post, Tian had allegedly commented in regards to the sluggish tempo of labor by means of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, which infuriated the Pakistani staff of the company. As the knowledge of the argument and alleged blasphemy unfold, a charged mob of numerous hundred people, chanting dying threats in direction of Tian, gathered exterior the residential camp and began pelting it with stones.

Hundreds of people from shut by villages moreover gathered to dam the Karakoram Highway connecting Pakistan to China to protest in direction of the Chinese citizen.

The police intervened and fired aerial warning photos on the mob to forestall a riot. The mob saved making a ruckus for almost 4 hours and solely dispersed after the police assured that the Chinese engineer would face approved repercussions.

Meanwhile, after the aforementioned incident, the protection of the Chinese nationals engaged on the World Bank-financed Dasu hydropower mission has been tightened.

Attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan

In addition to the persecution of minorities, Pakistan has recently been under hearth for the rise in assaults on Chinese people dwelling there. In September last yr, an unidentified gunman opened hearth inside a dental clinic in Karachi, Pakistan, killing a Chinese nationwide and injuring two others. The suspect managed to flee the murder scene with the assistance of an accomplice who had parked his bike throughout the nook on Preedy Street.

Prior to this, three Chinese nationals have been killed in a suicide bombing at Karachi University in April by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, which is hostile to China’s involvement in Balochistan and accuses China and Pakistan of exploiting the resource-rich province.

In 2021, at least 10 people misplaced their lives and 39 have been injured after a bus carrying staff members engaged on Dasu Dam was blown up. Of the 4 lifeless, 4 have been Chinese nationals.

In reality, after the string of assaults reported throughout the newest earlier, research emerged on how Pakistan’s security strategies will not be trusted by the Chinese inhabitants, notably the Chinese labourers there. Chinese staff in Pakistan actually really feel frightened and don’t perception Pakistan’s security gear to keep up them safe in an emergency.

Last yr, owing to the repeated assaults on Chinese nationals, a top-level tri-service military group from Pakistan visited China from June 9 to 12 to deal with diversified factors with senior military and authorities officers from Beijing. During the dialogue, the assaults on Chinese residents by Baloch militants have been launched up.

Beijing requested Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to take acceptable actions to steer clear of assaults on Chinese people engaged on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) companies in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

It’s worth mentioning that China has made most important infrastructural investments in Pakistan. The initiatives, one amongst which being the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), rely intently on Chinese manpower and funds.