The Pakistan unit of South Korean tech major, Samsung, has issued an apology after violent protests broke out in Karachi over alleged blasphemous comments played inside a mall in the neighboring country’s largest city. In a statement, Samsung Pakistan said it ‘maintains neutrality on religious sentiments’ adding that it has started internal investigations into the matter.
Here’s all you need to know about the controversy:
(1.) On Friday, a WiFi device installed at the Star City Mall played the alleged blasphemous remarks. Soon, news spread like wildfire, and protesters gathered at the site and staged violent protests. Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat shared the following video:
Another version of events said the violence was against a mobile QR code introduced by the company, that, supposedly, insulted Prophet Mohammad.PBUH
(3.) Meanwhile, police arrived at the spot, got the device shut, and seized it. As many as 27 Samsung employees have been detained and an inquiry is underway, officials said.
(4.) While there is no official word on the identity of attackers, or how many of them, if any, have been arrested, it is being reported that they belonged to the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).