02 November 2012

Pakistan school head held over 'blasphemous' test

Pakistan police arrested a headmaster on blasphemy charges on Thursday, officers said, after a mob ransacked his school over allegations a test paper insulted the Prophet Mohammed.

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. [AFP] Read more