Pakistani authorities seal political party's headquarters after violence

The authorities sealed the headquarters of a powerful political party in the Pakistani commercial hub of Karachi early on Tuesday after violence gripped the city, officials said.

Police said hundreds of workers of the Mutahida Qaumi Party or MQM attacked the offices of three private TV channels after the party's leader in self-exile Altaf Hussain complained that the media is not giving proper coverage of its anti-gov't hunger strike.

The government has banned speeches of Hussain on a court's order that also annoyed the MQM's workers.

As Hussain concluded his address to his workers by the phone, the workers stormed the office of ARY television in central Karachi and also attacked offices of two other TV channels Samaa and Neo, management of the channels said.

Hospitals confirmed at least one person was killed and nine others injured in firing incidents.

Some vehicles and motorbikes were also burnt during the protest. TV footage showed MQM's workers entering the offices of TV channels and destroying equipment and furniture.

Paramilitary troops and police raided the MQM's headquarters known as "Nine-Zero" in Karachi and also detained some people.

Earlier the paramilitary troops detained MQM's parliamentarians Farooq Sattar and Khawaja Ezhar-ul-Hasan, when they arrived at the press club to speak to the media, officials said.

Brigadier Khurram Shehzad, a commander of paramilitary force, told the media that all legal requirements have been completed for the raid. He said the MQM media office and a hostel for the provincial lawmakers were also sealed.

He also claimed recovery of some arms and "anti-state" literature from the headquarters.

The authorities also raided other offices of the MQM in the city and interior Sindh province of which Karachi is the capital.

MQM is an influential party of the ethnic Urdu-speaking people who migrated from India after the birth of Pakistan in 1947. It had been part of the ruling coalition under the Pakistan Peoples Party.

The group has called for strike in Karachi for Tuesday. However, the authorities have asked the people to open business as normal. The transporters have also been asked to bring vehicles to the roads.

The authorities have announced that all educational institutions will remain open and no one will be allowed to disturb peace in the city. Police have declared a high alert in Karachi.

The Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah summoned an emergency meeting to review the security of the city.

Major General Bilal Akbar, head of the paramilitary force, said the army chief, General Raheel Sharif, had directed him not to spare anyone who have resorted to violence.

A police officer Qamar Asif said that nearly 2, 000 MQM's workers attacked the media offices and several markets. Two police officers and media persons were among the injured.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned attacks on the media house and described it as an attack on the freedom of the media. Endit