Pakistani Sunni leader killed

Police dispersed an angry mob after the killing

By Zafar Abbas in Islamabad

A prominent Pakistani Sunni Muslim leader, Maulana Saleem Qadri, has been shot dead in an armed ambush in the city of Karachi.

Five other people were also killed.

Maulana Saleem Qadri was chairman of the Sunni Tehrik party.

The attack took place when his car was passing through a narrow street in one of the congested parts of the city's southern district on the way to a city mosque for Friday prayers.

Police said several gunmen were apparently involved.

A policeman and five other people were also killed in the incident, including a child.

Angry response

Two of Maulana Qadri's sons received bullet wounds and doctors at the hospital said their condition was serious.

Even though the armed attack was carried out in broad daylight, the unidentified gunmen still managed to escape.

The incident led to an angry response from Sunni Tehrik supporters in Karachi.

Hundreds of them gathered outside the hospital where Maulana Qadri's body was being kept.

As the mob became unruly, riot police fired several rounds of tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the killings, but members of Sunni Tehrik have accused a couple of hard-line Sunni groups for the incident.

Members of Maulana Qadri's group belong to the larger Barelvi faction of Pakistan's Sunni Muslim community which has not been involved in the on-going sectarian dispute between extremist Shi'a and Sunni Muslim factions.