11 Killed in Pakistani Violence

The shooting of a Shiite Muslim cleric set off sectarian clashes in a northern Pakistani town that left at least 11 people dead, including a family of six burned to death in their home, officials and the state news agency said Saturday.

Authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew and army troops patrolled Gilgit on Saturday to contain the violence, the second bout of unrest in six months between rival Shiites and Sunni Muslims in the usually serene area, a Himalayan tourist destination 150 miles north of Islamabad, the capital.

Residents outside Gilgit reported that roads into the remote town of 25,000 people had been blocked from as far as 30 miles away.

Police said that hundreds of Shiites and Sunnis had clashed, setting fire to shops and other buildings owned by members of the other sect. Government offices were also torched.

Associated Press of Pakistan, a state news agency, reported that six members of one family were burned to death in their home. Geo television network said the head of the household was a government forestry official.

Jamil Ahmed, regional chief administrator, said a total of 11 people were killed.

The trouble started when unidentified gunmen shot and wounded a prominent Shiite and leader of the main Gilgit mosque, Agha Ziauddin, as he traveled through the city in a car. His security guards fired back, killing at least one of the attackers. One of his guards also was killed.

It wasn’t clear what motivated the attack on Ziauddin.

Pakistan has often been troubled by sectarian violence.

About 77% of its 150 million people are Sunnis and 20% 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 sometimes make attacks.

In June, Gilgit erupted in violence when Shiites held protests demanding changes in Islamic textbooks used in state schools.