QUETTA: A man and his young sister belonging to the Shia Hazara community were gunned down in the Spiny Road area on Sunday, police said.

The siblings were going to Marriabad from Hazara Town on a motorbike when they came under fire near Killi Tirkha. They suffered serious injuries and died while being taken to the hospital by the police.

“The victims received bullets to their head,” hospital sources said.

Police quoted the area people as saying they did not hear any gunshots, implying the assailants had used silencer-fitted weapons. “We saw a man and a woman travelling on a motorbike suddenly fell on the road and were bleeding,” police said, quoting eyewitness.

The deceased were identified as Shakeel Ahmed and Hawa Bibi and they were going to Hazara Town to see their relatives.

Police termed the incident targeted killing. “It appears to be a case of targeted killing,” Regional Police Officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.

The bodies were handed over to the family of the deceased after completing medico-legal formalities. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police registered a case against unidentified attackers and started investigation.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2017