( CNN ) -- An 11-year-old Christian girl has been arrested after being accused of blasphemy by burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan 's capital , Islamabad . According to a statement released by the president 's office Sunday , the girl , identified as Ramsha , was accused by a local resident of burning pages of the Muslim holy text after she gathered paper as fuel for cooking . Local media reports said the girl has Down syndrome . CNN was unable to confirm these reports , and a local police official said they are not true . Qasim Niazi , the police officer in charge of the station near where the incident took place , said the girl does not have a mental disorder but is illiterate and has not attended school . The accused girl had told him she had no idea there were pages of the Quran inside the documents she burned , he added . Niazi said that 150 people had gathered on Friday where the neighborhood 's Christian population lives and threatened to burn down their houses . `` The mob wanted to burn the girl to give her a lesson , '' he told CNN . Other Christian families living in the area have fled fearing a backlash , he added . Petition : Free Pakistani Christian woman set for execution . The statement from President Asif Ali Zardari said he has called for an urgent report on the incident and added that vulnerable sections of society must be protected `` from any misuse of the blasphemy law . '' `` Blasphemy by anyone can not be condoned but no one will be allowed to misuse blasphemy law for settling personal scores , '' said the president 's spokesman , Farhatullah Babar . Critics of the controversial law say it is being used to persecute religious minorities . Politician and former international cricketer Imran Khan tweeted : `` Shameful ! Sending an 11yr old girl to prison is against the very spirit of Islam which is all about being Just and Compassionate . `` Poor child is already suffering from Down Syndrome . State should care for its children not torment them . We demand her immed release , '' said Khan , who now leads the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf . The legislation makes it a crime punishable by death to insult Islam , the Quran or the Prophet Mohammed . Pakistan is home to about 2 million Christians , who make up more than 1 % of Islamic nation 's population , according to government statistics . Pakistan : 'Honor ' murderer boasts of triple killing . CNN 's Reza Sayah in Islamabad contributed to this report .
A girl , 11 , is arrested for allegedly burning pages of a Quran . Media reports say the girl has Down syndrome , but a police official denies it . Fearing a backlash , local Christian families have fled . The president says the blasphemy law must not be misused .