GILGIT, Oct 14: The death toll in Thursday’s violence in Gilgit rose to 12 after six more bodies, including that of a woman, were found in different areas of the city on Friday.
Official sources said the deaths had occurred in firing between security forces and angry mobs.
At least two personnel of the Rangers were among the dead and five others had been admitted to the Combined Military Hospital Gilgit for serious wounds.
The deceased were identified as Muhabat Ali and Hameed (both Rangers personnel), former municipal committee chairman Saleem Raza, Fida Hussain, Waheed Hussain, Hayder Abbas, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Yunus, Qadir Shah, Tahreen Batool, Haseena and Saima.
The sources said that there would be no break in curfew for three more days.
At around 1:30pm security forces asked residents through loudspeakers to remain indoors. They warned that those found violating the curfew would be shot at sight.
“We don’t know what’s happening outside. We are confined to our homes,” a frightened resident Jamshed Alam told this correspondent by telephone.
Residents said the power supply to some localities was cut off for the past two days while the situation of food and fuel supply was also bad.
Thousands of passengers and commuters stranded in hotels and guest houses could not be evacuated owing to curfew and firing which continued intermittently in different parts of the city.
Some residents told this correspondent they were without food and fuel for the past 48 hours.
Hundreds of schoolchildren and women belonging to Shia community blocked the Karakoram Highway to protest against the killing of seven persons on Thursday.
