Karachi, Aug 16: Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Shiite Muslim doctor today in southern Pakistan, and the death sparked rowdy protests by hundreds of youths, police said. The victim, Ibn-e-Hasan, 45, was en route to his clinic when he was shot in southern Karachi's Malir neighborhood. His wife, who was in the car with him, escaped unhurt.

No one claimed responsibility for the killing and the assailants, who were on a motorcycle, escaped, said police official Ghulam Hamid. The motive for the killing was not immediately clear.

Hundreds of Shiites, mostly youths, took to the streets in the poor Malir neighborhood, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding that the killers be arrested.

Some of the demonstrators blocked a highway and a railway track, disrupting traffic. They also damaged several cars by pelting them with stones, and they burned old tires.

Police said they were trying to restore order by negotiating with Shiite leaders. "We do not want to use force because they are already in pain," police official Altaf Leghari told the Associated Press.

Police were investigating the death but "apparently we do not think it was a sectarian killing," he said, without elaborating.

Bureau Report