Police, protesters clash in isolated unrest
(5 Jun 2004) SHOTLIST 1. Various Karachi street scenes 2. Various of fires in the street 3. Police arresting man 4. Police van driving away 5. Wide shot of closed shops 6. Various of closed shops 7. Various of rangers patrolling the streets 8. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Muhammed Zafran, Karachi resident: "We observed the strike because the government has taken no action and made no arrests. Even after the martyrdom of such a big Islamic scholar." 9. Various of motor rickshaws 10. Rangers (soldiers) driving along road 11. Various of demonstrators throwing stones 12. Various of police firing at demonstrators STORYLINE Isolated unrest hit the tense Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, as Sunni Muslim protesters attacked a police station, injuring 10 people, and blocked a major intercity highway, police said. Otherwise, the city remained quiet, with most people staying home after a week of sectarian violence in the country's commercial centre that left 28 people dead. A hardline opposition religious coalition, Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, had issued a call for a general strike on Friday to protest the recent violence. A few hundred of its supporters staged a rally that passed off peacefully. However, a mob of 200 people later stoned a police station in a western district of Karachi, drawing tear gas and gunfire from police. Police said six protesters suffered gunshot wounds and four police were injured by stone-throwers. Meanwhile, another mob blocked a major highway between Karachi and Hyderabad using barricades fashioned from broken furniture and debris, bringing intercity traffic to a halt. Police fired tear gas at the mob and were trying to clear the way, police said. The Karachi Stock Exchange canceled its afternoon session because of thin attendance by investors, officials said. Merchants shuttered their shops and motorists avoided the roads in neighbourhoods already fire-scarred by upheaval this week. The violence was triggered by the drive-by shooting of a prominent Sunni Muslim cleric on Sunday and the bombing of a mosque a day later. Full-scale clashes between the Sunni majority and Shiite minority were avoided during several days of rioting, with property and police bearing the brunt of mob outrage. Four people died in exchanges of gunfire with police. The violence had petered out by Thursday, but wary citizens avoided going out ahead of Friday prayers and the rally by the MMA coalition of Islamic fundamentalist opposition parties - comprising both Sunnis and Shiites. The protesters who gathered on Friday demanded the ouster of the provincial governor for failing to prevent the killings. The city's police chief was fired earlier this week. No one has claimed responsibility for the assassination of cleric Nazamuddin Shamzai or for the mosque bombing. Some Pakistani officials believe that the attacks may have been intended to trigger sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites. About 80 percent of Pakistan's 150 (M) million people are Sunni Muslims and about 17 percent Shiites. Karachi, a teeming port city and commercial centre home to 14 (M) million people, has long been a flashpoint for religious and ethnic divisions. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
