Pakistan imposes curfew after sectarian riots

Authorities imposed a curfew in a city in northern Pakistan today after gunmen injured a minority Shiite Muslim leader, sparking a riot, residents and a senior government official said.

Hundreds of supporters of Agha Ziauddin, a prominent Shiite leader, blocked main roads in the Himalayan city of Gilgit, about 150 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, and attacked shops owned by Sunni Muslims.

Gunmen opened fire on Ziauddin this morning as he was travelling home by car, wounding him. He was hospitalised in stable condition, said Jamil Ahmed, regional chief administrator. It wasn’t clear what motivated the attack or who was responsible.

Ahmed said authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew, and refused to say when it would be lifted.

Police official Mohammed Sadaqat said small groups of Shiites had attacked shops and a Sunni doctor had been injured.

Residents in Gilgit said they had heard gunshots but had no idea what was happening in the city.

In June, several people were killed during sectarian unrest in Gilgit, after Shiites held protests demanding changes in Islamic textbooks used in state schools.

Pakistan has often been troubled by such violence. About 80 % of its 150 million people are Sunnis and 17 % Shiites – although Shiites are in a majority in Gilgit and some other mountainous northern areas. Most of the Muslims live together peacefully, but small groups of militants on both sides stage attacks.

The schism between Sunnis and Shiites dates back to the 7th century over who was the true heir to the Prophet Mohammed.