MULTAN, March 31: A group of people allegedly broke into a church in Mian Chunnu and torched its furniture, in what officials described on Friday as an attempt to stir up religious tension.

Police said they had no immediate idea who was behind the assault, which took place at around midnight on Thursday. There were no injuries reported.

“We have started an investigation into the incident but we think it was designed to create religious unrest in the area,” a local police official said.

Another police official, Tikka Khan, said a pastor who lived in the same compound saw a gang of people entering the church after breaking glass windows and later setting fire to the furniture.

Amid the tense situation in the town, a local Christian politician said the attack was meant to create conflict between the local Christian community and Muslims.

In February, a mob had torched a church, ransacked another, and damaged a nearby school run by nuns in Sukkur.—AFP