Pakistani government ends curfew imposed after sectarian clash killed 8 Sunni Muslims

Pakistani Sunni Muslims carry the casket of a victim killed in Friday's sectarian clashes during funeral prayers in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. The Pakistani government imposed a rare curfew on Saturday in a northern city where sectarian clashes during a Shiite religious commemoration broke out the day before, while Taliban insurgents threatened to avenge the eight Sunni Muslims who authorities say were killed. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) (The Associated Press)

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani police say the government has lifted a curfew in the garrison city of Rawalpindi that was imposed after eight Sunni Muslims were killed in a sectarian clash with Shiites marching in a religious procession.

Police officer Mohammad Amir says the curfew in Rawalpindi, which is located next to the capital, Islamabad, was raised Monday morning. But he says army troops will continue to patrol the city for several more days, and there is still a ban on more than four people assembling in one place.

The sectarian clash in which the Sunnis were killed took place on Friday, when Shiites were holding a procession to mark Ashoura, one of the sect's most important religious occasions. The clash also left at least 35 people wounded.