LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 1, (AFP): Pakistan police arrested a headmaster on blasphemy charges on Thursday, officers said, after a mob ransacked his school over allegations a test paper insulted the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

A 250-strong crowd stormed Farooqi Girls’ High School in the eastern city of Lahore late on Wednesday after students told parents about derogatory references to the Muslim prophet in an English test.

Police officer Azam Manhais told AFP the school principal Asim Farooqi had been arrested under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, which can lead to the death penalty, and a search was under way for the teacher who prepared the question paper.

Furniture and the principal’s car were set ablaze in the attack and the school, which was opened in 1978 and has a good reputation, remained closed on Thursday.

Tahir Ikram, a police official, said 250 people including parents, residents and young boys were involved in the attack and officers have registered a case against this “unknown group of people” for ransacking the school.

Multan Khan, a senior police official, confirmed the incident and said police had opened a blasphemy case against the teacher, Arfa Iftikhar, and the principal.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the population are Muslims, and allegations of insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) can prompt violent outbursts of public anger, even when unproven.

The laws came under the international spotlight in August when 14-year-old Christian girl Rimsha Masih was held for three weeks in a high security prison for allegedly burning pages from the Holy Quran.