Outbreaks of violence in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi killed dozens (File)
Gunmen went on killing sprees in Pakistan's largest city after the assassination of a lawmaker, killing at least 37 people by Tuesday. Dozens of vehicles and shops were set on fire as security forces struggled to gain control as Karachi seethed.
The southern city of more than 16 million has a history of political, ethnic and religious violence, and has long been a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban militants. Its stability is considered paramount for Pakistan, because it is the country's main commercial hub.
The latest unrest came after Raza Haider, a provincial lawmaker, was shot dead along with his bodyguard in a mosque in Karachi's Nazimabad area while preparing to offer prayers Monday.
Haider was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the political party that runs the city and represents mainly descendants of migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.
The MQM's main nemesis is the Awami National Party, a secular nationalist party whose main power center is Pakistan's northwest and whose base is the ethnic Pashtun community.
Officials from different hospitals put the total death toll by Tuesday morning at 37. Some 90 people had suffered gunshot wounds as well, they said. A furniture market was among the places set ablaze.
"Since yesterday, 37 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 have credible information that Haider's killing was carried out by a banned sectarian organization. He did not say which one.
Sindh province spokesman Jamil Soomro said at least 10 people were arrested, and police and Army Rangers were dispatched throughout the city to impose order. But gunfire could still be heard Tuesday morning, and fires were still being set in some areas.
"Invisible hands"
Schools and colleges in Karachi and other urban centers in the province were ordered to stay closed by the government Tuesday. Some officials blamed unspecified "invisible hands" for the violence.
"It is very sad, and we believe that it is the work of those forces who want to destabilize the elected government," Soomro said.
A total of 102 people were killed in targeted attacks from January to June, with 40 more last month.
Karachi has a long history of ethnic, religious and sectarian violence. It was a main target of al-Qaeda-linked militants after Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, when Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against militancy, and foreigners were attacked in the city several times.
Mohajirs, the descendants of Urdu-speakers who migrated from India after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, are the biggest community and dominate the city's administration through the MQM.
It is also home to the largest concentration of ethnic Pashtuns outside the northwest.
Government officials also say criminals, including drug lords competing for turf in the city's teeming neighborhoods, take advantage of the tension, complicating the police's difficulties.
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دبی العربیه. نت
در درگیری های خیابانی که امروز سه شنبه 3-8-2010 در کراچی در جنوب شرق پاکستان در پی ترور یک نماینده پارلمان به وقوع پیوست دست کم 41 نفر کشته و 127 تن زخمی شدند.
بر اساس گزارش منابع رسمی در پاکستان این درگیری ها پس از ترور یکی از نمایندگان مجلس محلی سِند ، شهر کراچی را به حالت هرج ومرج کامل درآورد.
رضا حيدر نماينده جنبش متحد ملی در مجلس سِند روز گذشته به همراه سه تن از همراهان وی در حمله افراد ناشناس در منطقه ناظم اباد شهر کراچي کشته شد.
پس از این اقدام مردم خشمگین تعداد زيادي از اتوبوس ها ، خودروها و مغازه ها را به آتش کشيدند. بازارها و مراکز تجاری این شهر امروز سه شنبه از بیم حوادث ناشی از ترور تعطیل اعلام شده است.
این در حالی است که مقامات این کشور سرگرم بررسی بحران سیل در شمال غرب پاکستان هستند.
بر اساس گزارش منابع دولتی این سیل تاکنون 1400 کشته برجای گذاشته است و ویروس وبا جان 2/5میلیون نفر آواره این سیل را تهدید می کند.
میان افتخار حسین، وزیر اطلاعات ایالت خیبر پختونخواه، اعلام کرد که چند مورد بیماری وبا در مناطق سیل زده به ثبت رسیده است.
گفتنی است که تاکنون سازمان ملل ، امریکا و بریتانیا متعهد شدند مبلغ 28 میلیون دلار به پاکستان کمک کنند.
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