Political Clashes Kill Eight In Pakistan's Port City

April 9, 2008 6:29 p.m. EST

Karachi, Pakistan (AHN) - At least eight people were killed and 15 others wounded when rival groups of lawyers clashed in the country's southern port city on Wednesday. More than 50 vehicles have been torched in several areas of Karachi.

Gun-wielding men on motorcycles opened fire at several places, creating panic and forcing shop-owners to shut down their establishments, according to reports. Police found the charred bodies of five lawyers, including a woman, inside their burned-out office while the other two were shot dead in crossfire between the warring factions.

The clashes started during a protest by lawyers from the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) against the beating the previous day of former minister Sher Afgan Niazi, according to an MQM official.

Niazi was beaten with shoes and fists by angry anti-Musharraf lawyers on Tuesday night in the eastern city of Lahore.

"Our lawyers were staging a protest against an attack on Sher Afgan Niazi. Some other lawyers attacked the group, 10 were injured including a woman lawyer," MQM legislator Faisal Sabzwari told the Agence-France Press (AFP).

President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf expressed shock over the violence and directed authorities to take necessary measures to ensure peace and calm.

New Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani also condemned the violence and "appealed to the citizens of Karachi to remain calm and peaceful," according to an official statement.