Security forces 'given permission to shoot rioters'

A spokesman for a paramilitary group claims security forces in southern Pakistan have been given permission to shoot at rioters.

Witnesses also say police have fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters in a central Pakistan city and that rioters have ransacked seven banks and a petrol station.

At least nine people have died as a result of violence in several cities, sparked by the murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto yesterday.