Clashes kill 7 in Pakistan; Bhutto spouse cleared of charges

A street fight between rival political camps escalated into rioting here Wednesday, with armed men vandalizing cars and setting fires. Five people burned to death in one building and two were fatally shot, including a paramedic trying to aid the injured.

It was the worst political violence Pakistan’s new government has faced since taking office last month, vowing to curtail the powers of U.S.-allied President Pervez Musharraf and cement democracy after eight years of military rule.

The trouble broke out when pro- and anti-government attorneys punched and beat each other with sticks near the main courts complex. Soon after, armed men began shooting and setting fire to cars in several districts, witnesses said.

A nearby building was set ablaze, and five charred bodies were found on the sixth floor, police officer Syed Sulaiman said.

A court, meanwhile, dismissed murder charges Wednesday against Benazir Bhutto’s widower that stemmed from the death of the former prime minister’s brother.

Mir Murtaza Bhutto died in a shootout with police in 1996, when his sister was prime minister. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was charged with murder.

State prosecutor Mohammed Farooq said the high court in Karachi dismissed the murder charges against Zardari because of lack of evidence.

Zardari has taken the helm of his wife’s party since her December assassination, and the party now leads Pakistan’s new government.