One person was killed and several others injured today in Pakistan when MQM activists, who were on a hunger strike for four days, went on a rampage here and attacked the office of a private TV channel alleging biased coverage.
Several journalists of various media organisation present there were attacked by the activists of the Mutthaida-E-Qaumi Movement (MQM) - the single largest party in Karachi.
The protesters pelted stones and resorted to heavy aerial firing that wounded people, including women.
"At least one person was brought dead (to JPMC) while several others were injured," head of the Emergency Ward at Jinnah Hospital, Seemin Jamali, said.
Several vehicles, including a police van, were damaged.
Trouble began when hundreds of workers attending a hunger strike of MQM outside the Karachi Press Club resorted to violence as they marched towards the busy Zainab market.
The protestors stormed the office of 'Ary' channel and attacked its employees. They also ransacked some shops and forced shopkeepers to close them down.
The television channel in a statement said the protesters belonged to the MQM.
According to the channel, MQM chief Altaf Hussain in his speech through a telephone call from London earlier today told the party workers "to storm the offices of TV channels".
The workers also set up bonfires on the road and fired aerial shots as they marched towards the Governor House.
Police resorted to tear-gas shelling and aerial firing to push back the protesters.
The MQM had been holding the hunger camp for the past three days to protest the disappearance and arrest of their workers by the paramilitary rangers.
The MQM has alleged that since a "clean-up operation" began in Karachi in October 2013, paramilitary rangers and police have targeted its leaders and workers.
The MQM remains the single largest party in Karachi for decades now and have dominated the political landscape for years sweeping provincial and national elections but since the clean-up operation began on the orders of the centre, the party has come under intense pressure.
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