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Many Pakistani Christian families residing in Meharabadi village near Islamabad have fled their homes in fear of a backlash, after a 11-year-old mentally challenged Christian girl was beaten up by locals and later arrested on charges of blasphemy. Instead of trying to contain the situation in the area through deployment of forces, the police simply asked the Christian community of the area to run for their lives, reports The Express Tribune. Rifta Masih, who suffers from Down's Syndrome, was jailed by the police on Saturday after being severely beaten up by locals, for allegedly burning ten pages of the Holy Quran. After the issue was highlighted in the media, Islamabad police registered a case against the cleric of a local mosque for instigating locals to set the minor girl on fire. The official said a new FIR has been registered against the cleric and 175 others who had approached the police with a demand to hand over the girl so she could be set on fire publicly.

Pak Christian families told to flee homes after child's blasphemy arrest