Pak ethnic killings claim 5

The bound and tortured bodies of four ethnic activists were found early on Tuesday in two different parts of Karachi.

A fifth victim, a senior Urdu journalist, was killed when gunmen opened fire early on Tuesday morning on a leader of the Haqiqi faction of the Mohajir Quami Movement. Mizhar Imkani was outside on the lawn talking to his neighbour, Kamran Rizvi, a Haqiqi leader, when gunmen scaled a wall and opened fire with automatic rifles, police officials said.

Rizvi is in critical condition in hospital, they said.

Police and ambulance workers had retrieved four bodies, all believed to be activists with the Haqiqi faction of the MQM , which is locked in a bitter feud with a rival faction, led by exiled leader Altaf Hussein.

Two bodies were found in district east, the scene of feuding between the two factions and two bodies were found in a big commercial neighbourhood in the centre of the city.

Although no one claimed responsibility for the killings, police and authorities fear it may be in retaliation for the killings on Monday of five members of Hussein's faction of the MQM.

A funeral on Monday shut down most of the central district of Karachi as mourners wailed and screamed accusations at the Haqiqi faction.

Shops in this district were closed again on Tuesday.