Alien hand in Karachi violence

Alien hand in Karachi violence

KARACHI (Reuter): Pakistani authorities said yesterday it was possible some foreign power might be involved in a fresh wave of violence between rival Moslem sects in Karachi, the country's commercial capital.

"There is a possibility of foreign involvement," Information and Broadcasting Minister Khalid Ahmed Kharal told a news conference after Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's cabinet held a special meeting in Karachi to discuss the situation.

But he declined to name any country that might be involved, saying it was not desirable while state agencies were investigating the violence, in which at least nine people have been killed and about 40 injured in the past two days.

In the past, Pakistan has accused intelligence agencies of neighboring India of sending agents for sabotage.

Kharal said there seemed to be "a pattern of continuity" in the incidents of lawlessness in Karachi and earlier violence in Punjab province blamed on activists from the majority Sunni and minority Shi'ite Moslem sects.