Gangs torched vehicles and a shop in Pakistan's largest city on Friday after a senior politician from the local ruling party was stabbed to death in London. Gas stations, schools and markets in Karachi were closed and no public transport was running as news of the stabbing of Imran Farooq spread. The city has a history of political violence, and revenge attacks and acts of arson often follow killings.
Farooq was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of Pakistan's major parties and the largest in the coalition governing Karachi.
His body was found in north London on Thursday with multiple head and stab wounds. The slaying could have implications for national political stability, especially if the MQM accuses its rivals of being involved.
London's Metropolitan Police said no arrests had been made and did not speculate on the motive.
In a statement, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the killing.
On Friday morning, more than a dozen people broke into a plastics shop and set it on fire near the MQM headquarters, witnesses said. Elsewhere in the city, youths blocked the main road and torched two buses, according to a resident. Local media reports also said some vehicles were burned and shots fired late Thursday after the news of the murder spread.