Karachi burning, death toll rise to 12

Factions of pro & anti-Musharraf lawyers took their fight to the roads as the death toll kept on mounting.

The death toll of rioting in Karachi rose to 12 as the provincial government ordered a probe into the violence that erupted following clashes between lawyers supporting President Pervez Musharraf and their rivals.

Six persons, including a woman, were burnt alive after a mob torched a building near the city courts that has the offices of several lawyers on Wednesday.

Two other persons were shot dead in incidents of firing while four more succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The trouble started shortly after a group of lawyers affiliated to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement organised a demonstration to protest the manhandling of PML-Q leader and former federal minister Shar Afghan Niazi by a mob of lawyers in Lahore on Tuesday.

The MQM alleged its lawyers were attacked by a rival group from the Karachi Bar Association. The Association refuted the claim and said its rivals had attacked its office and members.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said two persons had been arrested in connection with the riots and arms recovered from them. He ordered a probe into the violence and said the report of its findings will be made public within three days. Shah also directed law enforcement agencies to restore normalcy in the city and ordered the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers to increase patrolling.