By IANS,
Islamabad : The violence in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi was due to the worsening situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Friday.
Over 800 people were killed in ethnic, sectarian and political violence in Karachi this year. Gilani told reporters in central Multan city that the affairs in Afghanistan had worsened the situation in Pakistan.
Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to share information with one another if they unearth any plot to disturb the law and order so they could take pre-emptive steps, Xinhua quoted him as saying.
Asked if the army will be deployed to restore peace in Karachi, he said the federal government respects the mandate of the province and would support if it takes any decision.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a key ethnic group, has called for the deployment of the army in Karachi, while the Awami National Party called for an army operation to recover illegal weapons in the city.
Gilani added that the government has urged all parties to make joint efforts to restore peace in Karachi.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and some opposition groups, however, oppose the idea of deploying the army in Karachi and instead recommends more powers for the police.