A Christian man has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said on Monday.
The incident took place in Lahore's Nishat Colony last week.
A police officer, Zulifqar Ali, told PTI that Amir Masih has been arrested on the complaint of a Muslim, Sanoor Ali.
"Ali told police that his neighbour Masih came to his grocery shop and started talking about leaving Pakistan because of poor economic conditions. Then he suddenly passed derogatory remarks against the Prophet. I tried to overpower him, but he managed to flee," he said.
The officer said later Ali approached the police and filed a complaint against Masih, who was later arrested and booked under section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Section 295-C deals with the offence of defiling the name of the Prophet. The punishment for this offence is either death or imprisonment for life, along with a fine.
According to Napoleon Qayyum of a Christian legal organisation, it is a fabricated case as the complainant wants to settle a score with the suspect over a petty matter.
{{/usCountry}}According to Napoleon Qayyum of a Christian legal organisation, it is a fabricated case as the complainant wants to settle a score with the suspect over a petty matter.
{{/usCountry}}"The shopkeeper and the suspect, who is a father of two, have been living on the same street for many years, and they exchanged harsh words over the rainwater drainage issue last Friday. Shopkeeper Ali alleged that the suspect drained water from his house into the street, which flowed into his shop. Later, he got a blasphemy case registered against Amir Masih," he said.
Qayyum added that Masih told police that he and the complainant had exchanged harsh words over rainwater drainage issue, and he (Masih) did not say a word about the Prophet.
Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the death penalty. Often, an accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.
In Pakistan, most blasphemy cases are registered primarily to settle some grudges between the complainant and accused parties.
Minorities, including Christians and Hindus, have been frequently subjected to blasphemy allegations.