KARACHI: At least two people were killed and another one injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at the vehicle of a Shia leader in an apparent sectarian attack in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighbourhood on Saturday night, DawnNews reported.

Initial reports suggest Mirza Yousuf, a leader of Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) remained unhurt in the attack. However, one of his personal guards and a policeman were killed and an aide of Yousuf sustained wounds.

Unidentified attackers managed to flee away from the site after police personnel, deployed for the MWM leader’s security, responded with retaliatory gunfire.

Condemning the attack, MWM chief Allama Nasir Abbas and Millat-i-Jafaria Pakistan leader Allama Sajid Ali Naqvi demanded the government to arrest the culprits behind the attack at earliest.

Moreover, Shia Ulema Council has announced a country-wide protest on Sunday.

Meanwhile, five more people including a police officer died in separate incidents of violence in different areas of the port city on Saturday.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 per cent of Pakistan's GDP, is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.

Police along with Rangers are already carrying out operations against criminal groups to curb sectarian and political killings in the port city.