KARACHI, Jan 30: A religious scholar and his police guard were shot dead near Tariq Road on Sunday afternoon when he was returning home from a mosque.

The murder of Maulana Mohammad Haroon Qasmi, 35, sparked violence at different places in the city and enraged people lit bonfires and blocked roads.

Police and witnesses said that the Maulana had led Zuhr prayer at the Mamoor mosque and as he was returning home with the guard, Aqueelur Rehman, 30, he came under attack. Witnesses said that a youth holding a pistol grabbed the guard from behind and shot him dead.

Maulana Qasmi resisted the assailant. When the guard was shot, he tried to escape but another assailant shot at him. Another assailant picked up the official sub-machine gun of the police guard and opened fire at Maulana Qasmi. After the shooting, the assailants sat on a motorbike and fled carrying with them the official SMG.

City police chief Tariq Jamil said: "Three assailants attacked the Maulana and the police guard and fled. They threw the official gun at some distance and police have found it.

We have also found five empties of 3mm gun. He said: "It appears to be sectarian killing as the deceased belonged to the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, but nothing can be said with certainly at the initial stage. We are investigating."

Mr Jamil said that people got provoked by the killing and took to the street. They ransacked the police kiosk near Cafe Liberty on Tariq Road and set it on fire. He said that the angry people also created a law and order situation on way to the Sakhi Hasan graveyard from Tariq Road but police were deployed to maintain peace.