Curfew Declared in Second Pakistani Town

[Rose Siding]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew in a second, remote town in northern Pakistan on Thursday to contain sectarian unrest that has left 17 people dead, officials said.

Hundreds of Shiite Muslims took to the streets in Skardu to mourn the death Thursday of a prominent Shiite cleric whose shooting last week triggered deadly riots in another town in the Himalayan region, Gilgit.

Federal Minister for northern areas Faisal Saleh Hayyat confirmed that troops had been summoned in Skardu -- about 100 miles southeast of Gilgit -- "after an unfortunate incident took place there."

He refused to give any details.

A security official, who did not want to be named, said some of the mourners attacked homes and shops of rival Sunni Muslims. It wasn't clear if anyone was injured.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-cleric-death,0,1344495.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Here's a pickle: Iraq's civil war breaks out in nuclear Pakistan.

[Squatch]

1. Explain, please:

"Here's a pickle: Iraq's civil war breaks out in nuclear Pakistan."

And, here's a map of the region for your reference.

[Rose Siding]

2. When I say "civil war"

I was refering to tensions in Iraq (as a result of our invasion) btwn Sunni and Shia factions. The article I posted reads as though the curfew is a result of similar tensions. I'm guessing that those religious loyalties supercede most borders.

If that's inaccurate, please clue me in.