Government deployed paramilitary troops and police in Karachi on Thursday, a day after violence. Authorities warned of "extreme action" to prevent further bloodshed in the wake of the worst violence to hit the country since a new government won elections in February.
Angry lawyers vowed to boycott courts after it emerged that the victims of Wednesday's clashes included five attorneys, one of them female, who were burned to death inside their office. "The driver of a public transport vehicle, who was brought to hospital with a bullet wound, succumbed to his injuries late Wednesday night, raising the death toll to eight," city police chief Niaz Siddiqui told AFP.
Siddiqui said police had arrested three people with weapons, who were allegedly involved in the arson and firing. "We do not know their identity yet," he said, adding that they were being interrogated.
"Police and Rangers (paramilitary troops) have been deployed in sensitive areas with strict orders to take extreme action against anyone who damages public property," Sindh province home secretary Arif Ahmad Khan told AFP.