LAHORE: More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches in Pakistan were vandalised when a mob rampaged through the streets over alleged blasphemy this week, the head of Punjab provincial police, Usman Anwar, said Friday.

“The events that unfolded were tragic. Violence like this can never be justified,” he told AFP, adding that he will travel to the city of Jaranwala on Sunday to show solidarity with the Christian community.

Anwar said he personally interrogated two Christian brothers accused of desecrating the Holy Quran “to avoid accusations of torture”.

Crowd vandalises churches, torches homes in Jaranwala

Hundreds of Christian minority fled their homes Wednesday when an angry crowd of Muslim men tore through the streets of Jaranwala, on the outskirts of the industrial city of Faisalabad, torching homes and churches.

On Friday, 3,200 churches were guarded by police across Punjab province to provide reassurance to the Christian community, Anwar said. Christian groups have held a number of small protests across the country calling for greater protection.

“We hope that through this protest, the government must realise that this issue must be dealt with sternly and those who committed destruction must be brought to justice,” Archbishop of Karachi, Benny Travis, told AFP at a small rally.

The Punjab caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed solidarity with Christians, adding that they would be compensated for their losses.

The provincial government has announced an inquiry into the violence. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said the number and size of the attacks “appear to have increased in recent years”.