Karachi clashes kill 34
PAKISTAN: At least 34 people have been killed in the Pakistani
commercial hub of Karachi, after a member of the dominant political
party in the city was shot dead, police said on Tuesday.
Raza Haider of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was gunned down on
Monday along with his bodyguard while attending a funeral, an attack
that apparently set off a new round of ethnic and sectarian-related
clashes in the city of 18 million.
"Since yesterday, 34 people have been killed, about 90 people injured
and dozens of shops and vehicles have been burnt down," Karachi police
chief Waseem Ahmed told Reuters. Ahmed said the police has credible
information that Haider's killing was carried out by a banned sectarian
organisation. He did not say which one.
Schools were closed on Tuesday in response to the violence in a tense
city with very thin traffic on the streets. Karachi, Reuters
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