At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday as angry mobs took to the streets after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Interior Ministry said. “The death toll in the unrest after Benazir’s death is 10, mostly in Sindh province,” ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said. He said four died in Karachi, four in rural Sindh and two in Lahore.Unconfirmed reports said a total of four people had been killed in Lahore. Sporadic gunfire could be heard echoing around the streets of Lahore. The markets and shops immediately closed down as paramilitary patrols roamed the streets in an attempt to keep a lid on the violence, a local police officer said.
Rawalpindi tense: Gun-toting PPP workers took to the streets in Rawalpindi and opened fire on election offices of rival political parties. To minimise danger, several political parties shut down their election offices. A vehicle belonging to PPP supporters was also fired upon in the vicinity of Sadiqabad Police Station.
Sindh situation grim: “Police in Sindh have been put on red alert,” said a senior police official. “We have increased deployment and are patrolling all the towns and cities, as there is trouble almost everywhere,” he added.
In Karachi, police said protesters burned at least 70 vehicles. A large number of armed youth also attacked dozens of industries located in the SITE area and forcibly shut them down. “They are reacting severely and are opening fire on factories in which they see any sign of life,” said Rehan Ali, a factory foreman.
Voluntary services, such as Edhi, were unable to move around the city to provide rescue services because mobs were rioting everywhere. Some ambulances were even vandalised and one was reportedly set ablaze. “We received information that mobs set fire to a garment factory in Ibhrahim Hydri and at least 300 workers were stranded inside, but we couldn’t get there because of the riots everywhere,” said Anwer Kazmi, secretary to Abdul Sattar Edhi.
According to AFP, four policemen were shot and wounded in Karachi. Also in Karachi, a mob of more than 200 men started firing in the air outside a major shopping mall, a witness told Daily Times.
The Dadu residence of former federal power minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi was attacked and set on fire. In Sukkur, several election offices and vehicles of various political parties were set on fire. PPP activists also blocked the Indus Highway, according to a Daily Times Monitor report. In Mirpurkhas, the Shah Latif Express was set alight. In Naudero, the Khushal Khan Khattak Express was set ablaze. In Panu Aqil and Larkana, railway stations were set on fire and hotels were attacked.
In Tando Allah Yar, police opened fire on protesters. Jacobabad, the hometown of caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro, was also witness to rioting, as its main court, banks and other buildings were set on fire, an AFP reporter said.
Road blocked: The mood was also tense in BenazirÂ’s hometown of Larkana where two banks were set on fire, witnesses said. At least 20 vehicles were torched in Hyderabad. Police told Reuters they had been ordered to block the main road between Punjab and Sindh, apparently to stop the movement of protesters.
Fearing renewed violence in Swat, officials clamped a curfew on the region, a local official told reporters. Protesters in Azad Kashmir blocked roads with burning tyres and chanted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.
Tear gassed: Separately, Peshawar police used tear gas and batons to break up an angry demonstration. More than 100 angry Benazir supporters blocked the main trunk road here, torching billboards and posters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, before police moved in.
Red alert: The government has also put its paramilitary forces on “red alert” across the country following the violent protests. Reuters also reported disturbances in Multan.