Dozens killed after political assassination in Pakistan

At least 37 people were shot dead in Karachi, Pakistan following the assassination of a politician, hospital chiefs said today.

Karachi, Pakistan's most populous city and its commercial hub, has long been volatile, with bursts of sectarian, political and ethnic violence.

The latest death tolls came after provincial politician Raza Haider was shot dead in a mosque yesterday.

Simi Jamali and three other hospital officials confirmed the death toll today.

Mr Haider belonged to Muttahida Qaumi Movement political party.

Mr Haider was killed along with his bodyguard in the mosque in Karachi's Nazimabad area while preparing to offer prayers.

His political party runs the city and represents mainly descendants of migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.

The MQM's main nemesis is the Awami National Party, a secular nationalist party whose main power centre is Pakistan's north west and whose base is the ethnic Pashtun community.

Officials from different hospitals put the total death toll at 37 by today. Some 80 people had suffered gunshot wounds as well, they said. A furniture market was among the places set ablaze.

Sindh province spokesman Jamil Soomro said at least 10 people were arrested and police and army rangers were dispatched throughout the city to impose order. But gunfire could still be heard and fires were still being started in some areas.

Schools and colleges in Karachi and other urban centres in the province were ordered to stay closed by the government.

Some officials blamed unspecified "invisible hands" for the violence.

"It is very sad and we believe that it is the work of those forces who want to destabilise the elected government," Mr Soomro said.