KARACHI, 15 May 2004 — Major shopping areas were closed in almost all parts of the port city of Karachi on a call to strike by an alliance of religious parties yesterday.

The religious party alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) called for the strike following violence and deaths of nine people during Wednesday’s by-elections in Karachi. More than 30 were injured during the daylong violence in parts of the port city.

Of those killed, 7 were from the MMA and 2 were activists with the rival ethnic Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party. The MMA and MQM accused each other for inciting the violence and killings.

According to unofficial results, the MQM has won all seats it was contesting, but Pakistan’s Election Commission has ordered withholding an announcement of official results following complaints of vote-rigging. An inquiry has been launched.

Yesterday, all markets were closed, attendance in offices was thin and students stayed away from schools. Public transport in many areas was not available; however minibusses and cabs were seen on the streets.

There were reports of burning tires blocking traffic and vehicles being pelted with stones. Police used tear gas shells in some areas to control the situation. However, no major incidents were reported.

Six Members of Shiite Family Shot Dead

Six members of a Shiite family were found fatally shot yesterday in a house in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore in what police suspect was a sectarian attack.

The victims — two men, their wives and a 1-year-old daughter of one of the men, and their female maid — were shot in the head and mouth in their home in Lahore’s eastern Mughalpura neighborhood, said Tariq Saleem, a Lahore police official.

The victims had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths had been gagged with tape, Saleem said. A security guard at the family’s home informed police about the killings.

Police officers found the body of the 17-year-old maid in a garage of the home. Other bodies were found in a bedroom and the living room. The victims had been shot with pistol fire, Saleem said. Anti-Shiite slogans were inscribed on two walls of the house.

No one claimed responsibility and no arrests were made, but Saleem said police were looking into whether sectarian motives were behind the killings.

“We will investigate all the options, including terrorism and sectarianism,” Saleem said.

The killings in Lahore came one week after a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Karachi left 15 people dead.