Curfew imposed in Gilgit after 11 killed in sectarian unrest

At least 11 people were killed six of them burned alive during a sectarian unrest yesterday in the northern Pakistan city of Gilgit, officials said.

The administration put the city under an indefinite curfew and called out the army to quell the rioting.

The unrest broke out after unidentified gunmen shot and wounded a prominent Shiite leader, Agha Ziauddin, and killed his two security guards.

Gilgit Forest Officer Taighun Nabi and five members of his family were burned alive when a mob set their home ablaze, the head of the local administration, Deputy Commissioner Sajid Baluch, said.

The director of government health service in the region, Dr Sher Wali, was also killed in his office when a mob raided and opened fire on the premises, his family said.

Baluch said one of the assailants who ambushed the Shiite leader was killed in retaliatory shooting by his guards while two passers-by were fatally hit during the exchange of fire.

The rampaging mobs torched more than a dozen vehicles and set fire to a number of government buildings in Gilgit, gateway to Himalayan and Karakoram peaks, officials said. About a dozen people were injured in the attacks.

The sectarian unrest was the worst in recent years in the remote town, which has a population of about 120,000 and has witnessed frequent incidents of violence involving rivals groups from the Shiite and Sunni communities. Residents said the city, which is linked to the rest of the country by the Karakoram Highway built with China's help, remained in the grip of volatile tension while troops with orders to shoot on sight patrolled the streets to enforce the curfew.

Curbing sectarianism in Pakistan has been one of the top priorities of President Gen Pervez Musharraf since he took power in October 1999 and banned extremist groups from the majority Sunni and minority Shiite communities.

Repeated crackdowns have been carried out by the police and security agencies to hunt down extremist elements and the government has also taken steps to control spread of sectarian literature by religious fanatics.