Islamabad, Apr 10: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani on Thursday said that Wednesday’s Karachi violence in which eight people had died appeared to be a conspiracy hatched by opponents of democracy.

Coming down heavily on the perpetrators of the violence, Gillani said his government would not compromise.

“We must take notice of these unjustified, mischievous and definitely conspiratorial acts,” Gillani told parliament.

“These acts I am convinced are being fuelled by those who do not want democracy to flourish,” the Dawn quoted him, as saying.

Pro-Musharraf parties boycotted Thursday's parliamentary proceedings.

“The Prime Minister should have taken strong action after these incidents which seem to be a pre-planned conspiracy,” said opposition leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, adding, “The prime minister still has our confidence and he should try to resolve the situation, but our cooperation should not be misconstrued as our weakness.”

Meanwhile, the government has deployed paramilitary forces and police in Karachi.

“Police and Rangers (paramilitary troops) have been deployed in sensitive areas with strict orders to take extreme action against anyone who damages public property,” Sindh province home secretary Arif Ahmad Khan told a foreign news agency. (ANI)