Pakistan has imposed a round-the-clock curfew in the remote northern town of Skardu to contain sectarian unrest that has left 17 people dead. Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims took to the streets in Skardu to mourn the death on Thursday of a prominent Shi'ite cleric whose shooting last week triggered deadly riots in another town in the Himalayan region, Gilgit. That town is also under curfew. The cleric, Agha Ziauddin, was critically wounded last Friday when at least two unidentified gunmen fired on his car in Gilgit. His shooting sparked sectarian violence in Gilgit, leaving 15 people dead. Agha Ziauddin and one of his security guards died of their wounds on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 17.
