Karachi violence: Baloch lawmaker's kin among 7 killed

The wife, daughter and driver of the sitting Member Provincial Assembly from Sibi in the Baluchistan province, Mir Bakht Yar Domki, were gunned down late on Monday last night near the Gizri bridge in the upmarket area of Clifton while they were going home.

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Domki is the grandson and his wife was the granddaughter of the late Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was killed by security forces in 2005 while he was underground because of a clean up operation by the government in the province to combat terrorism. "Now even our women are not safe. We don't expect any justice from the government but we will get justice from God," a grieving Domki told the media.

City police chief, Ayaz Ghorchani, said the killings appeared to be the result of a family enmity, which are common in Baluchistan. Few hours earlier violence erupted in the Shia Muslim dominated areas of the city in which three persons were gunned down in the north Karachi area.

The police said the three were killed when unidentified masked men opened fire on the car they were riding in. Superintendent of Police Chaudhry Asad though said that the men belonged to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. However, he refused to confirm whether this was an ethnic attack. "Investigations are still underway," he said.

Earlier on Monday, a Shia -- Taseer Abbas Zaidi -- was gunned down in the Gulberg area leading to protesters blocking roads and attacking the law enforcement agencies and media personal to vent their anger. Last week, a fresh round of target killings had given rise to fear that these were the result of ethnic and sectarian violence.