ISLAMABAD, 14 January 2005 — Authorities imposed curfew in a second town in northern Pakistan yesterday after a prominent Shiite leader who was wounded in an ambush that sparked bloody sectarian riots died in hospital here.
The death of Agha Ziauddin, who was shot in the northern Himalayan gateway town of Gilgit on Saturday, has raised fears of renewed violence following weekend unrest which left 15 people dead and 35 wounded.
Protests broke out in a number of cities across Pakistan as Shiite leaders called for nationwide rallies today to press the government to arrest Ziauddin’s killers.
Ziauddin, who was in his 50s, had been transferred to the Combined Military Hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, after the attack.
“He died this morning in hospital and we are taking his body back to Gilgit,” his spokesman Sikandar Gilani said. Officials later said a helicopter taking the body to Gilgit was forced to return due to bad weather. One of Ziauddin’s bodyguards who was critically injured in the attack also died yesterday in the same hospital. Two other guards were killed instantly when gunmen struck Ziauddin’s car.
Gilgit has been under a shoot-on-sight curfew for the past five days. The restrictions were relaxed for two hours for the first time Tuesday and authorities had earlier said life was returning to normal.
But the situation became tense yesterday after news emerged of the well-respected prayer leader’s death, and soldiers were patrolling the town.
Authorities slapped a curfew on a second town, scenic Skardu, some 120 km from Gilgit. Hundreds took to the streets in Skardu to mourn the death of Ziauddin. Federal Minister for northern areas Faisal Saleh Hayat confirmed that troops had been summoned in Skardu “after an unfortunate incident took place there.” He refused to give any details.
A security official, who did not want to be named, said some of the mourners attacked government buildings, homes, shops and a seminary of Sunnis. It was not clear if anyone was injured. Authorities could not be contacted in Skardu. Police in Gilgit said phone lines to Skardu were not operating.
Small groups of people held demonstrations in Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and other cities, police and witnesses said.
Ziauddin was critically wounded Jan. 8 when at least two unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car in Gilgit, 250 km north of Islamabad. Ziauddin led a campaign for the last few years to have a separate Shiite curriculum introduced for his community.
His shooting sparked sectarian violence in Gilgit, leaving 15 people dead, including six members of a family who were burned alive when an angry mob attacked and torched their home.
