QUETTA: At least two Shia Muslims and one other man were killed when a gunman opened fire in an apparent sectarian attack in southwest Pakistan on Sunday, police said.
The shooting took place on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas-rich Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
"A gunman opened fire on two Shia Muslims and one of their companions, who were riding two motorbikes. All the three men died of their wounds on reaching hospital," local police official Ameer Dashti told AFP.
The gunman -- who had been standing beside the road -- escaped after what appeared to have been a targeted sectarian killing, he said. A local intelligence official also confirmed the incident and casualties.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Balochistan is rife with Islamist militancy, sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims, and a regional insurgency waged by separatists.
Shia Muslims account for around a fifth of Pakistan's 167-million-strong population, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims.
Thousands of people have died in sectarian attacks since the late 1980s.
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"unknown gunmen opened indiscriminate fire" it was a deliberate targetted attempt and the gunment managed to get away with it as always. no matter who is responsible it is a shame really for the entire country and the so called democratic government.
A typical Pakistani attitude to this would be "Oh these guys can't be Muslim. Muslims never kill other Muslims. Therefore the killers are not Muslims and as we are Muslims we don't care about what non-Muslims do to Shias, after all, we don't actually consider Shias to be Muslims."
We are a nation of hypocrits.