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Islamabad: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday called on lawyers opposing his rule to stop spreading anarchy in the country as the death toll from the latest political violence in the volatile city of Karachi rose to 10.
Violence broke out in parts of the sprawling city on Wednesday after anti-Musharraf lawyers clashed with his supporters in a court.
Four people were killed in shooting in the city while six charred bodies of lawyers, two of them women, were recovered from a building housing lawyers' chambers after it was set ablaze.
The violence is the first since a new government made up of Musharraf's opponents was sworn in just over a week ago.
"I appeal to the lawyers not to spread anarchy. Law and order should be maintained," Musharraf told reporters before departing for a five-day visit to China.
Karachi, the country's commercial capital, has a long history of political and sectarian violence.
The city has been tense since Monday when angry protesters assaulted Arbab Ghulam Rahim, a pro-Musharraf former chief minister of the southern province of Sindh, as he was coming out of the provincial assembly in Karachi.
Another vocal supporter of Musharraf, former federal minister Sher Afgan Niazi, was thrashed by angry lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday.
"I strongly condemn all these incidents. We should adopt civilised behaviour," Musharraf said.
Lawyers have waged a campaign against Musharraf since he tried to dismiss Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in March last year.
Musharraf has become increasingly isolated after a crushing defeat of his allies in Feb. 18 elections.
Last November, Musharraf sacked Chaudhry and dozens of other judges when he imposed emergency rule for six weeks to pre-empt a ruling against the legitimacy of his re-election in October while still remaining army chief.
The new coalition government, led by the Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, last month promised to reinstate the judges.
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