Protests in Pakistan after Christian man commits blasphemy

Hundreds of activists of religious parties surrounded a Christian colony in Lahore, demanding arrest of a Christian man who allegedly posted blasphemous content on the social media, police said today.

The Christian youth was accused of allegedly posting blasphemous content about Muslim holy places.

The activists of Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) and other religious parties gathered in Shahdara area in Lahore and surrounded the Christian families living there, demanding them to hand over the man to them.


They said they would not leave the place till the youth hiding there was handed over to them.

After over 12-hour standoff we managed to persuade the protesters to disperse as the suspect had been arrested and duly booked under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code for committing blasphemy,a police senior officer Ali Raza said.

An FIR has been registered against the Christian youth.

"We negotiated with the leaders of the religious parties and told them that the suspect would get exemplary punishment," Raza said, adding that police are still present in Shahdara to avoid any untoward incident.

Police stopped them from entering the Christian colony. Around 400 Christian families are living there.

A source said the police shifted all Christian families to a "safe place".