Friday, April 11, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 4,1429    

Lawyers protest against Karachi violence

Observer Report

Karachi—Thousands of lawyers protested Thursday as tension mounted over the deaths of 10 people in clashes between supporters and opponents of President Pervez Musharraf.

The clashes in Karachi are the biggest challenge yet to an anti-Musharraf coalition government that took office in March, and they came amid signs that the mounting unrest is boosting the embattled president’s allies.

Both sides blamed a “conspiracy” by the other for the violence, which erupted on Wednesday. The victims included seven lawyers who were burned to death in their office.

Around 2,500 lawyers marched through Lahore on Thursday accusing the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party of being “killers” and demanding that the perpetrators be publicly hanged.

Most lawyers have bitterly opposed the president since he sacked the country’s chief justice last year when it looked like the Supreme Court would overturn his re-election as president.

But the MQM has said it was the victim of the Karachi violence, alleging that the clashes started after lawyers allied to the party were attacked while protesting against the beating of a former pro-Musharraf minister.

Thousands of paramilitary troops and police were deployed in Karachi on Thursday and authorities warned of “extreme action” to prevent further bloodshed. Police said the death toll from the clashes had risen to 10 after authorities found another charred body in a lawyers’ office where six other corpses were found. All were believed to be lawyers.

Another lawyer injured in the clashes had died in hospital, senior police official Suleman Syed said. Lawyers in Karachi declared two days of mourning and boycotted courts.