Islamabad: In a rare case of a foreigner being swept up in the harsh and controversial blasphemy laws of Pakistan, a Chinese national working on a dam project in northern part of the South Asian nation has been arrested and imprisoned on accusations of blasphemy, reports New York Times (NYT).

NYT reported citing a Pakistani police report that the arrested Chinese man had been identified as “Mr. Tian” and described as a transportation supervisor at the Dasu hydropower project, which is leading by China’s Gezhouba Group construction and engineering company.

The Chinese man was on a field visit along with a team of Pakistani workers over the weekend when he was accused of making blasphemous remarks and gestures against God and the Prophet Muhammad after afternoon prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reports NYT, quoting a Pak police report.

A conviction on blasphemy accusations could bring the death penalty under Pakistani law, and experts believe the incident could strain an otherwise warming relationship between Beijing and Islamabad.

Pakistani officials said the Chinese national was being taken to a jail near the city of Abbottabad for his safety, and faced court hearings to determine whether he would be indicted, NYT reported.

The news of the Chinese man's accusations spread quickly, and it led to protests on Sunday that were dispersed by security officials in the Kohistan region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, according to NYT report.

However, the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad has not commented on the arrest so far