A Bradford group has written to senior politicians in the UK and Pakistan about the detention of a British-Pakistani national imprisoned on blasphemy charges.

The external affairs spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Bradford, Dr Abdul Bary Malik, said the group had deep concerns about 72-year-old Masood Ahmad, who moved to Pakistan about 50 years ago and has family in Glasgow.

Mr Ahmad, a doctor and member of the Ahmadi Muslim Community, was arrested in Lahore on December 15 after two people from a Muslim extremist group secretly filmed him reading a translation of a verse from the Holy Quran. He faces charges under Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadi laws.

Dr Malik said: “The Pakistan government must take action to release Mr Ahmad and ensure that his property is returned to him,” he said.