Pakistan Remains Tense; 11 Dead In Thursday Clashes Following Violent Assassination

December 27, 2007 10:05 p.m. EST

Rawalpindi, Pakistan (AHN) - All schools, businesses and banks in Pakistan are closed for three days after violence broke out following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

President Pervez Musharraf "directed the security agencies to take all possible steps to maintain law and order in the country," ministry officials said.

Angry mobs took to the streets, blocking roads, setting fire to cars and fighting with police after Bhutto was killed Thursday leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi. An estimated 22 people were killed when the suicide gunman who shot Bhutto detonated a bomb.

As Pakistanis awake on Friday, experts predict further unrest. Already, an estimated 11 people have been killed in the riots, and more may perish if militants and extremists take to the streets.

Some banks, government offices and cars in several towns and cities were set on fire, police said. Tensions were high in Sindh, Bhutto's home province, and its capital Karachi, her hometown, as police in Khairpur city fired on a crowd, killing two people, GEO TV reported.

Shops were closed and many Pakistanis rushed home as protesters set fire to banks, shops, gas stations and more, Pakistani media reported.