Scores of Muslims in Pakistan have ‘violently attacked’ a minority Christian settlement over alleged blasphemy, the police say. 

The mob attack occurred in the city of Sargodha in the Punjab province, leaving several people wounded.

Several witnesses and minority rights leaders confirmed that protesters ransacked and burned down houses, including that of a small shoemaking factory belonging to a 70-year-old Christian man.

The septuagenarian was accused of desecrating the Quran and was assaulted. 

At least 10 Christians were rescued in crisis and brought to safety before dispersing the crowd, a police statement said. Several of them suffered injuries and were undergoing treatment in a local hospital.

The statement noted that clashes with angry protesters also left 10 officers injured, adding that the police are deploying hundreds of additional units in and around the Christian settlement to help defuse the religious tensions.

Senior provincial police officers have reported the detention of up to 20 suspects in connection with the mob attack, promising more arrests in the ongoing crackdown. 

They said that an investigation into the blasphemy allegations was underway.

Violent mob attacks against religious minorities in majority-Muslim Pakistan are not uncommon.

In August 2023, thousands of people in the Jaranwala district of Punjab attacked and burned 21 churches and damaged more than 90 Christian properties after accusing two Christian brothers of blasphemy. 

Several Christian families fled their homes because of the violence. Police arrested more than 250 people, including the three Christians accused of desecrating a Quran.

Insulting the Quran or Islamic beliefs is punishable by death under the country’s blasphemy laws.