ISLAMABAD: 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 Shiites took to the streets in Skardu to mourn the death yesterday of a prominent Shiite preacher whose shooting last week triggered deadly riots in another town in Gilgit. Federal Minister for northern areas Faisal Saleh Hayyat confirmed that troops had been summoned in Skardu – about 160km 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 Sunnis. It wasn’t clear if anyone was injured. The preacher, Agha Ziauddin, was critically wounded and two of his private security guards died January 8 when at least two unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car in Gilgit, which lies about 250km north of the capital, Islamabad. His shooting sparked sectarian violence in Gilgit, leaving 15 people dead, including six members of a family who were burnt alive when an angry mob attacked and torched their home. It was the second bout of violence in seven months between Sunnis and Shiites in Gilgit, a tourist destination and home to about 25,000 people. Ziauddin and a third security guard died of their injuries yesterday, said Izhar Bukhari, a spokesman for the preacher. Mourners subsequently took to the streets in Skardu, a predominantly Shiite town of 60,000. A round-the-clock curfew remains in force in Gilgit, and troops have been deployed to keep the peace. – Agencies