[Dawn] Gunmen and arsonists went on the rampage in Pakistain's financial capital Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
on Tuesday, killing at least twelve people and setting dozens of vehicles alight, officials said.
The unrest was sparked by the murder of a party worker and his brother late on Monday, reviving fears that the city of 18 million could return to horrifying levels of violence that left more than 1,700 people dead last year.
Violence is a major concern in Bloody Karachi, the economic powerhouse of Pakistain whose Arabian port is used by the United States to ship supplies to the war in Afghanistan, although Pakistain has blockaded the border for four months.
Mansoor Mukhtar, 37, a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
(MQM), the largest political party in the city, was rubbed out late Monday when gunnies burst into the home where he was sleeping, police said.
His brother, Masood Mukhtar, also died and his sister-in-law was maimed in the attack in the central neighbourhood of PIB Colony, police said.
Soon afterwards, gunnies erupted into the streets and started setting fire to vehicles, in violence that left a further six people dead and more injured.
"Our hospitals have received a total of eight bodies of victims from today's firing incidents. They include an MQM member and his brother," said police surgeon Hamid Parhiar in the southern province Sindh, of which Bloody Karachi is the capital.
At least 38 vehicles, including buses, mini buses and trucks were torched in Bloody Karachi, bigwig Roshan Sheikh said.
The MQM, which represents the Urdu-speaking majority and sits in President
Asif Ali President Ten PercentZardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
's governing coalition, denied any responsibility.
"We have been keeping Bloody Karachi peaceful for a long time and such incidents have been perpetrated by those who don't want to see our country stable and peaceful," party front man Wasay Jaleel told AFP.
The funeral of Mukhtar brothers was held at Jinnah Ground Azizabad.