Thousands of Muslims in a city in Pakistan have set fire to at least four churches and vandalised the homes of Christians over claims that two men desecrated the Quran, police say.

"The Pakistani society has experienced increased fragmentation, driven by widening economic disparities, leading to an upsurge in violence directed towards minority religious groups," Mr Bashar said.

A local official told BBC Urdu that authorities received calls about protests and fires early Wednesday morning after reports of the two men allegedly desecrating the Quran, the holy book of Islam, circulated on social media.

Authorities said torn pages of the the sacred text with blasphemous content allegedly scribbled on them in red marker ink, were found near a Christian community.

"They broke the windows, doors and took out fridges, sofas, chairs and other household items to pile them up in front of the Church to be burnt," he told AFP news agency.

Amir Mir, the information minister for Punjab province, condemned the alleged blasphemy and said in a statement that thousands of police had been sent to the area, with dozens of people detained.

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