Police officer allegedly hacks suspect to death with an axe during interrogation in Pakistan after he 'insulted the Prophet .........

A police officer allegedly hacked a suspect to death with an axe during an interrogation after he uttered 'derogatory remarks' about the Prophet.

Syed Tufail Haider, 45, was arrested for wounding two people in Gujrat, Pakistan, but got into a heated argument with Assistant Sub-Inspector Faraz Naveed while in custody.

The senior police officer then allegedly struck Mr Haider on the neck with an axe lying in the room at Civil Lines station, a blow which resulted in immediate death, according to the authorities.

This comes just two days after a Christian labourer and his pregnant wife were beaten to death and burned on top of a brick kiln for throwing out a dead relative's Koran in Pakistan.

Sub-Inspector Naveed accused Mr Haider of blasphemy and hurling abuse at officers, with other police officials saying the arrested man was mentally unsound.

'Tufail was kept in the lock-up but he continued uttering derogatory remarks and hurled abuse at policemen. He looked like a malang (wandering preacher) and seemed mentally imbalanced,' duty officer Ali Raza told AFP.

'Assistant Sub-Inspector Faraz Naveed, 36, became very angry on hearing the derogatory remarks against the companions of the Prophet and he killed the detainee with an axe in the lock up,' he added.

Police have arrested ASI Faraz Naveed and taken the axe into custody. The body of the Mr Haider has been sent to a local hospital for a post-mortem.