Islamabad - At least 27 people were killed and around three
dozen more injured in ethnic violence in Pakistan's southern port
city of Karachi, police and health officials said Thursday.
The clashes between activists of ethnic Urdu-speaking Muttahida
Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the minority-Pashtun population erupted
Wednesday when gunmen shot dead two MQM supporters in the shanty-town
neighbourhood of Khwaja Ajmair Nagri.
The violence later spread to several areas of Karachi, a
metropolis of more than 16 million people, and continued early
Thursday. Rival armed groups exchanged fire in the streets and
torched vehicles and businesses.
Karachi's police chief Waseem Ahmad said 22 people had been killed
and more than 30 injured, while the rioters torched 18 vehicles.
However, an official at the town's main Jinnah Postgraduate
Medical Centre said the death toll rose to 27 when some victims
succumbed to their injuries Thursday morning. Most of the killed were
Pasthun.
Authorities have deployed Sindh Rangers paramilitary forces to
control the riots.
Educational institutions and businesses in many parts of the city
remained closed on Thursday, and public transport also stayed off the
roads.
Karachi, which is the country's financial hub, has a long history
of ethnic violence between the Mohajir, who migrated from India
following the creation of Pakistan in 1947, and Pashtuns, who have
moved from the North-West Frontier Province for economic reasons. The
Mohajirs are represented by MQM.
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