A
250-strong crowd stormed Farooqi Girls' High School in the eastern city
of Lahore late on Wednesday after students told parents about derogatory
references to the Muslim prophet in an English test.

Police officer Azam Manhais told AFP the school principal Asim
Farooqi had been arrested under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which
can lead to the death penalty, and a search was under way for the
teacher who prepared the question paper.

Furniture and the
principal's car were set ablaze in the attack and the school, which was
opened in 1978 and has a good reputation, remained closed on Thursday.

Tahir Ikram, a police official, said 250 people including parents,
residents and young boys were involved in the attack and officers have
registered a case against this "unknown group of people" for ransacking
the school.

Multan Khan, a senior police official, confirmed
the incident and said police had opened a blasphemy case against the
teacher, Arfa Iftikhar, and the principal.

Blasphemy is a
highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 per cent of the population
are Muslims, and allegations of insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed
can prompt violent outbursts of public anger, even when unproven.

The laws came under the international spotlight in August when
14-year-old Christian girl Rimsha Masih was held for three weeks in a
high security prison for allegedly burning pages from the Koran.

Activists have called for the laws to be changed, saying they are often
abused to settle personal scores. Ikram said it was still unclear what
had happened in the Lahore school case.

"We cannot say at the
moment whether this was a real act of blasphemy or a conspiracy," he
said, adding that police had tried to raid the teacher's house but found
it locked.

"At the moment we cannot say something solid unless we arrest and interrogate the teacher."

Comments

Pakistan: Headmaster arrested over 'blasphemy' faces death penalty over English test, Furniture and the principal's car were set ablaze in the attack

More of the vile and savage sharia. Obama say, "respect it!" The only righteous thing to do is insult and ridicule such anti-human brutality.

A
250-strong crowd stormed Farooqi Girls' High School in the eastern city
of Lahore late on Wednesday after students told parents about derogatory
references to the Muslim prophet in an English test.

Police officer Azam Manhais told AFP the school principal Asim
Farooqi had been arrested under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which
can lead to the death penalty, and a search was under way for the
teacher who prepared the question paper.

Furniture and the
principal's car were set ablaze in the attack and the school, which was
opened in 1978 and has a good reputation, remained closed on Thursday.

Tahir Ikram, a police official, said 250 people including parents,
residents and young boys were involved in the attack and officers have
registered a case against this "unknown group of people" for ransacking
the school.

Multan Khan, a senior police official, confirmed
the incident and said police had opened a blasphemy case against the
teacher, Arfa Iftikhar, and the principal.

Blasphemy is a
highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 per cent of the population
are Muslims, and allegations of insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed
can prompt violent outbursts of public anger, even when unproven.

The laws came under the international spotlight in August when
14-year-old Christian girl Rimsha Masih was held for three weeks in a
high security prison for allegedly burning pages from the Koran.

Activists have called for the laws to be changed, saying they are often
abused to settle personal scores. Ikram said it was still unclear what
had happened in the Lahore school case.

"We cannot say at the
moment whether this was a real act of blasphemy or a conspiracy," he
said, adding that police had tried to raid the teacher's house but found
it locked.

"At the moment we cannot say something solid unless we arrest and interrogate the teacher."