Pakistan releases Chinese national charged with blasphemy
By RIAZ KHAN
Associated Press
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A defense lawyer says a Chinese national who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released after a court granted him bail. Atif Khan Jadoon, the lawyer for the man who has been only identified as Mr. Tian, said Friday the Chinese national was granted bail by a judge a day earlier in the northwestern city of Abbottabad. Tian was released after he filed a surety bond of 200,000 rupees ($700). The latest development comes weeks after Tian — who worked on a dam project, was detained after hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela in northwestern Pakistan blocked a key highway and rallied demanding his arrest.