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Violence continues after Bhutto's funeral


Published: Dec. 29, 2007 at 12:57 PM
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Pakistani special forces were ordered to shoot rioters as violence continued Saturday after the funeral of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Burned cars marked the empty streets of Bhutto's home city of Larkana after rioting following her funeral Friday, CNN reported.

At least 44 people have died since Bhutto's assassination in Rawalpindi Thursday. Paramilitary forces were told to "shoot on sight" those causing civil disturbances, the BBC said.

More than 100 banks had been vandalized and an estimated 500 vehicles burned in the region, reported Press Trust of India, noting 13 people died when rioters burned a factory and a bank in Khairpur.

Thousands of mourners gathered publicly Saturday in Lahore and Rawalpindi, where marchers clashed with police who fired back with tear gas.

Central Karachi was largely quiet as residents observed the mourning period, which ends Sunday, and obeyed government warnings to remain at home, Pakistan Dawn reported.

Meanwhile, al-Qaida leader Baitullah Mehsud has denied ordering Bhutto's death. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's office said intelligence agents intercepted a telephone call indicating Mehsud was involved in the attack, Dawn reported.

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