GILGIT, Jan 20: Curfew was relaxed here on Thursday from 7am to 1pm.Skardu administration has also announced a six-hour relaxation in curfew from 9am to 3pm.

Police had arrested 70 people for suspected involvement in an outbreak of sectarian bloodshed in the two towns, which claimed 17 lives, officials said on Thursday.

Riots erupted in northern Gilgit on Jan 8 after gunmen attacked a Shia leader. There was unrest in Skardu after he died in hospital on Jan 13.

"We have arrested 70 people so far during raids for their suspected involvement in the riots in Gilgit and the destruction in Skardu," local police chief Sakiullah Tareen told AFP.

More raids were planned and police were close to catching all the culprits, he said. Security was in place for Eidul Azha to prevent further trouble, he said.

Gilgit has been under a curfew since the violence, which authorities relaxed for six hours on Tuesday.

Authorities were helping 16 Afghan engineers stranded in the area for the last 13 days to leave as soon as possible. They were booked on a Pakistan International Airlines flight on Friday.

The group's leader Naik Alam said he and his colleagues had been carrying out work for the Aga Khan Development Network when the riots broke out.-AFP/PPI