Protest over local election brings Pakistani violence

Army troops shot and killed 17 people and injured 48 others Thursday in a clash with a crowd protesting against local elections in Pakistan's Sind Province, police said. They said the crowd in Chandio, a village in central Sind , charged at soldiers trying to clear a roadblock of burning trucks set up by demonstrators.

Under constant pressure from the opposition, provincial authorities put off voting in the six most turbulent Sindhi districts until Sunday. The opposition says more than 100 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters so far, while officials say the toll is over 40. Opposition sources said police had arrested about 900 people in the previous two days in a roundup of opposition supporters.