An unnamed employee of the China Gezhouba Group Company was arrested by police on Sunday evening at a work camp at the Dasu hydroelectric power plant, about 350 km north of Islamabad, “to prevent a serious situation,” Chinese media reported on Monday.
The incident took place after a heated dispute broke out on the spot, as the man was unhappy with the "slow pace of work" during Ramadan.
Infuriated Pakistani workers started to gather at the work camp, with a risk of them assaulting the man for allegedly "insulting Allah".
As police took to the scene to take the man, protesters blocked roads, demanding the Chinese worker be handed over to the angry mob.
In the wake of the incident, local religious leaders will reportedly conduct a tribal council on Monday to decide whether the Chinese worker should be charged with blasphemy.