LAHORE/RAWALPINDI: Violence erupted on Saturday in the southern city of Multan and Chishtian town, where civil authorities have called in troops to maintain law and order.

The unrest follows sectarian clashes a day earlier between Shia and Sunni groups in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, killing at least nine lives.

A senior police official in Multan told news agency AFP that at least 12 people were injured when Sunni demonstrators took to the streets to protest the Rawalpindi incident, leading to clashes with a Shia group which fired warning shots in the air.

Following the clash, miscreants blocked roads in the city by setting fire to tyres and other objects.

In neighbouring Chishtian, a mosque was partially damaged and several shops were destroyed when miscreants torched it in apparent retaliation for the violence in Rawalpindi.

Army troops were summoned to both Multan and Chistian to quell the violence and ensure law and order.