PHOTO: INP/ FILE
A doctor was shot dead in the Manghopir neighborhood in western district and another was gunned down around noon at Tariq Road in the eastern part of the city.
They were identified by police as Dr Sher Ali and Dr Naseem Zaidi respectively.
“The killing pattern shows that they were apparently carried out on sectarian grounds,” Javed Alam Odho, the deputy inspector general of police told AFP.
The other two victims were killed in central district when unknown attackers burst into a tailor’s shop and opened fire.
The owner and a worker were killed and three others were injured.
“The attack seemed to be on sectarian lines as all of the people inside the shop were Shia,” senior police officer Aamir Farooqi said.
The latest attacks came ahead of the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Muharram, when Shia mourn the seventh century martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of prophet Mohammad, along with his family members.
Shias make up around a fifth of the predominantly Sunni Muslim population.
Police are already carrying out operations against criminal groups to curb sectarian and political killings.
Security would be further tightened for Muharram, they said.
“We are already carrying out the operation against sectarian and other elements and we would certainly intensify our efforts during the coming days,” Odho said.
Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes a major portion of Pakistan’s GDP, is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.
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I applaud you @Hari Om for hitting the nail on the head. if the great Mr. Jinnah was alive he would have you as his spokesperson! Mr.Jinnah's dream of Pakistan has been bastardized by the weak politicians who have allowed religious fanatics to govern a nation of no tolerance to diversity of religion and tolerance of minorities. The Saudis have exported their fringe extremist that have infiltrated a once diverse Pakistan and the people of Pakistan are terrified to fight this. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Pakistan Met to declare human cloning and changing of gender as un-Islamic acts while announcing its recommendations on a range of issues. As these are the most important issues demeaning Islam? NO mention of the world wide Shia-Sunni -Sunni-Shia genocide demanding that Muslims all over need to stop! Was even considered. Can We as Pakistanis Live & Let Live? for that Mr. Jinnah will have to return to fix.
shia should come to india. they are not safe in sunni pakistan.
I always wonder why this much hatred is there among shia sunnis in Pakistan?? It's not as dominant in India.
It continues to remain baffling to me both as a Non-Pakistani and Non-Muslim that Pakistan, a country claimed to have been founded to provide a safe haven for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continent, sees such frequent incidents of violence pitting Muslim against Muslim. Having an incident targeting adherents of the (original?) sect of the founder of Pakistan, Mr. M.A.Jinnah trashes any notion of the safe haven concept. How can this be so? Why not just live and let live?
@Muhammad: exactly ASWJ leaders have been killed on sectarian grounds and Sufis and Sunnis have been killed daily...are they nothing because they believe differently
@Naseer: Say that to my friend in Britain who is a Iraqi and a Shia bomber killed her father's three brothers in Iraq this year. I'm not saying that Sunnis are NOT the main culprits but calling it Shia genocide is surely unfair to the Sunnis who are also dying in Iraq......? Will this be posted, nah doubt it. Spread peace, not war.
The media need to be reigned in. Everyone knows the hidden agenda to pitch Shia against Sunnis and vice versa. Will not succeed,
@Naseer: its not just Shias or any other minority, Molvi is killing all those who have bit better IQ. than him. Matter of fact its GENOCIDE of Pakistani INTELLECTUALITY. Jinnah Zinda Baad.
Shias being targeted in Pakistan,afghanistan,Syria and Iraq.The 1st genocide of 21st century is the shia-genocide.
@Muhammad: Because these are targeted killings of shias. We need to be honest to ourselves in these matters while we try to eradicate this menace from our society...
Always very sad when sectarian killings take place. Until Pakistanis learn religion is a personal choice, no concern of any third party, definitely not stated in passports, and madrrassahs instruct moderate Islamic teachings decided by the education experts in government, there will be no end to such heartless, Godless murders.
For a stupid mindless cartoon we can come out in protest and violence by thousands but to protest the genocide of Shia Muslims we are sitting at our hands and only give mild condemnation statements. For a terrorist death we can go all they way to oppose the only super power of the world but not for the constant ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in our own country. In the war of tyrants and victims the neutrality is siding with the tyrant killers. The fact is a large faction of our Sunni support the killings of Shia and give their tacit approval. Yet our hearts ache for the terrorists and the jailing of confessed one woman Afia.
@Muhammad; because these killings are in the name of religion.
I can tell that its not shia vs sunni. It is the story the enemies of Pakistan try to make every time. The reality is people of Pakistan are mature enough to see the hand involved in these killings.
as a nation we are used to of hiding facts and lying on hazara killing it was declared ethnic killing after shia masaccar in punjab no body dared to mention it how many of us know that Dr ALI HAIDER the famous opthalmologist is being martyred along with his 11 yr old son just because of his belief (belonging to Shia sect) criminals are not yet caught every year muharram jaloos are being targeted. and not to mention other minorities Christians, Hindus we should consider them only pakistani sad to confess that we are such a brutal nation kill in the name of god not even knowing the basic teachings of islam
thats what our ulma are teaching labelling other sects Kafir killing in the name of god and majority of ignorant people are blindly following them the only state in which every thing is due to an conspiracy directed by India and America where HAkeem Mehsud is a martyr and shiite muslims are Kafir HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY this nation praises Usama bin laden as a leader if it continues as such this state will soon perish
So what was the use of the Karachi Operation? Nothing has changed, innocent citizens are still being targetted. Enough of this nonsense, kill the killers or there will be a reaction that the (in)security forces will not be able to handle.
@ET why say shia muslims? arent sunnis muslims also. muslims are killed in Karachi on daily basis why ET doesnt say sunni muslims killed? stop spreadig hatred. every pakistani killed is a loss.
@Govia hamza: It's not Shia versus Sunni - it's simply Shia genocide.
glad Pakistan was carved out. everyday one hears drone strikes bomb blasts and sectarian killing that too in a month of mohurrum .
Karachi is the worst city to live, in this 21st century.
there is on going operation...it seem terrorist and target killers are free to do their scared duty....
Shia versus Sunni, Sunni versus Shia when is this killings going to cease. This same sectarian violence that got Iraq begging US for support, we scream we protest against US yet after they left Iraq this violence spiked? We have Taliban killing Pakistanis & now sectarian violence welcome to the killing fields of Asia!
Can one still think that operation is goin on in Karachi since Sept? Is there any drastic change in the crime rate since operation has started in Karachi?
Sad that doctors are also loosing their life....And people r being killed because of their beliefs, I believe every group targeted should protest.Can you please mention that no one is safe in pakistan..?!