GILGIT, Oct 7: Tension gripped Gilgit and its suburban areas on Tuesday when protestors burnt tyres and blocked the roads to condemn the killing of Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the Millat-i-Islamia.

However, they dispersed after the paramilitary forces and the army began patrolling the city, the police said.

Official sources said students of different schools also blocked the Karakoram Highway in Chilas.

The angry protestors also took out rallies in the Jaglote Sai area.

Business activities in Gilgit were paralyzed and traffic on the roads was sparse.

The police said protest rallies began in the morning around 9am and shots of aerial firing were heard in some localities on Monday night.

They said that almost all educational institutions in Gilgit and Diamer remained closed and attendance in government offices was thin.

Central Khateeb of Jama Masjid Gilgit Qazi Nisar Ahmad and Maulana Khalil demanded during protest rallies that the government should arrest Maulana Azam Tariq’s killers, they added.