Violence surrounds political rally in Pakistan

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Saturday, May 12, 2007

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Violence erupted in Karachi, Pakistan as recently suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry reached the city to address a rally of supporters.

Clashes erupted in the streets between rival political factions. Members of the pro-government party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), clashed with supporters of Chaudhry, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). There are reports of up to 34 people killed in the riots and another 120 injured. Supporters of Chaudhry accused the MQM of initiating the violence, but the MQM has denied the accusation.

Chaudhry had flown in to attend the rally in the city, but was unable to leave Karachi airport due to the violence. After spending several hours at Karachi airport, Chaudhry returned to Islamabad.

In what was considered a controversial move, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended Chaudhry, March 9, 2007, on charges of misconduct. Critics say that Musharraf removed Chaudhry to put in place a Chief Justice more sympathetic to Musharraf's military-ruled government. There are reports Musharraf will put in a bid later this year to extend his rule by another five-year term and will seek legal support for his actions.

While the unrest in Karachi was taking place, President Musharaff addressed a large pro-government rally in Islamabad where approximately 80,000 people turned out. "This is a historical day... because I haven't been to any gathering where I have seen so many people in support of the government's policies," Musharraf told the crowd.

Musharraf ruled out imposing an emergency in Karachi. "There is absolutely no requirement and absolutely no environment for taking such drastic measure," he said.

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

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