Authorities in Pakistan have launched a probe and arrested at least 146 people in the Punjab province a day after a Muslim mob torched five churches and attacked dozens of houses belonging to the local Christian community over claims of blasphemy, the province’s top police official has told Al Jazeera.

“We are continuing our operations to detain others involved,” Inspector General of Punjab Police Usman Anwar said on Thursday, a day after hundreds of people went on a rampage attacking Christian properties and places of worship in Jaranwala city in Faisalabad district – about 115 kilometres (71 miles) southwest of the provincial capital, Lahore.

Local reports said torn pages of the Quran, with alleged blasphemous content written on them, were discovered near Jaranwala’s Isa Nagri (Christian colony) area, triggering one of the worst spells of violence against the minority community in recent years.