KARACHI (SW): Unidentified gunmen have massacred at least 43 members of Ismaili Shia community who were travelling in a public transport bus in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi on Wednesday.
According to police, six men armed with pistols entered the bus and started shooting indiscriminately.
Ghulam Haider Jamali, the Provincial Inspector General of Police said that 60 people were on board the bus when gunmen entered and executed 43 passengers. The attackers, who are believed to be wearing police uniforms managed to successfully flee after the attack.
Hospital sources have confirmed that the dead include 25 men and 16 women.
Pakistan has seen a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, particularly against Shias — of which the Ismaili community is a sub-sect — who make up around 20 percent of the country's predominantly Muslim population. Prince Karim Aga Khan, the globally renowned philanthropist and business magnet is their spiritual leader.
Local media reports suggest sectarian rift has gripped Pakistani for a while now during which hundreds of Shia and Sunni people have been killed. Karachi city has a long history of political and sectarian violence where paramilitary force Rangers has been busy conducting clean-up operation for over a year now.
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