Troops reinforced in Pakistan’s largest city as 13 more people killed in clashes

Extra troops patrol Pakistan city after violence

KARACHI, Pakistan — Extra troops were deployed to Karachi in southern Pakistan on Wednesday after 13 more people were killed in violence triggered by the assassination of a leading member of the city’s ruling party.

At least 58 people have died since politician Raza Haider was gunned down Monday night.

The violence in the commercial center is one of a number of crises facing Pakistan’s shaky government. It is also dealing with floods in the northwest that have killed 1,500 people, the aftermath of the country’s worst plane crash and an al-Qaida and Islamist insurgency.

Government spokesman Jamil Soomro said more troops had been deployed in the city of 16 million people, which was still tense Wednesday with less traffic than normal on its roads. He declined to say how many extra security officers were on the streets.

The latest deaths occurred overnight, Soomro said. Authorities have revealed little about the identities of the dead or the nature of the killings, but the victims are believed to be members of rival political parties or ethnic groups.