Fresh violence erupted in Karachi on Saturday when at least 14 people were killed, seven of them within an hour, with armed men on motorcycles carrying out target killings in Pakistan's biggest city.
In block 2 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal area, armed gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on people sitting at a tea stall close to a well known madrasa.
Deputy Inspector General of East zone Shahid Hayat confirmed that at least five people, including students of the madrasa, had been killed in the incident while five others were injured.
"Condition of two of the injured is critical," he said.
In another incident of target killing, near Saifee College in North Nazimabad, armed men on motorcycles killed two people travelling in a car.
The killings come at a time when an International Defence Exhibition is being held in the city and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is visiting the city with a high-level delegation.
Interestingly, most of the shootings on Saturday were carried out by gunmen on motorcycles although the Sindh provincial government on Friday night imposed a ban on pillion riding because of Muharram, the month of mourning, round the corner.
On Saturday, there were target killings in different areas of the city with two men being shot dead in Korangi.
Five other people were also killed in the city in separate incidents, said the police.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday gave details regarding the violence in Karachi to the National Assembly and said that a total of 1,363 people have lost their lives at the hands of target killers during the past five years.
