A student was shot dead and two others injured in a suspected sectarian attack in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area on Friday evening.

“Three students were on their way on a motorbike when armed pillion-riders attacked them in a deserted street in Block-4 of Guilistan-e-Jauhar and fled,” said Gulshan SP Dr Fahad Ahmad while speaking to Dawn.

One of the students, Murtaza, succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to a hospital.

The injured identified as Shahid Ali and Ihsan Ali were admitted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), confirmed Dr. Seemin Jamali, head of the emergency department.

“The dead and injured belonged to the Shia community and it appeared to be target killing incident,” added the police official.

Initial reports suggested the victims were students of University of Karachi and Dow University of Health Sciences and were returning from a coaching centre.

Police claimed to have launched a targeted operation against criminals involved in sectarianism and other crimes in various areas of Karachi earlier this week.