KARACHI, Pakistan — At least 45 people were killed overnight in Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi after a member of the dominant political party in the city was shot dead, police said on Tuesday.
Dozens of vehicles and shops were set on fire as security forces struggled to gain control of the city. Karachi residents stayed off the streets Tuesday in anticipation of more violence.
The latest unrest came after Raza Haider, a provincial lawmaker, was shot dead along with his bodyguard in a mosque in the Nazimabad area of the city while attending a funeral on Monday.
"Initial investigations suggest that there were more than two people who came on a motorcycle and they were probably backed by armed men in a car," said a police officer at the Nazimbad police station, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
As the bodies of Haider and his bodyguard were taken to hospitals, Karachi descended into chaos, Dawn reported.
Officials told The Associated Press that the total death toll by Tuesday morning was 45. Some 80 additional people had suffered gunshot wounds, hospital officials said.
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