Dozens of minority Shiite Muslims on Thursday ransacked a state-run radio station and attacked other government offices in a northern Pakistani city, triggering a shootout in which one man was killed and six were wounded. The shootout occurred hours after authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew and deployed troops in Gilgit after Shiites announced plans for a protest rally Thursday to pressure the government to publish separate Islamic studies textbooks for their students. A government official said that Shiites defying the curfew pelted police and soldiers with stones and opened fire, wounding two paramilitary soldiers and two policemen. The police and paramilitary soldiers returned fire, killing a Shiite youngster and wounding two other protesters, the official said. Police arrested eight people, including Shiite leader Agha Ziaudin. "We will not allow anyone to create a law-and-order situation," said Saeed Ahmed, a senior government official. Shiite clerics in Gilgit, about 150 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, had called for a rally after failing to reach a compromise with government officials over textbooks used in state-run schools, which they feel go against their beliefs.
| Wouldn't consider leaving the religion out, wouldja?... I thought not. |
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