Gunmen kill seven in South West Pakistan

Islamabad : Unknown gunmen killed at least seven people including two policemen on Sunday afternoon when they opened fire at a shop in Pakistan”s southwestern metropolitan of Quetta, official said.

The incident took place just hours before the start of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani”s two-day official visit to Quetta, the provincial capital of southwestern province of Balochistan.

The incident spread panic in the city and among law enforcement agencies as the city was on high alert due to Gilani”s tour.

According to the police officials, four miscreants armed with automatic guns riding on two motorcycles by hiding their faces with masks reached a shop at the Sirki road and opened fire at people present in the shop.

In the result of the firing five people including the owner of the shop and his son were shot dead on the spot.

The attackers succeeded in escaping from the site quickly after the attack. On the way back, two policemen riding on a motorbike tried to halt them but the escaping militants also sprayed bullets at the policemen.

One of the two personnel was killed on spot while the other succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.

Police and other security agencies reached the spot and cordoned off the area by sealing all the ways going out of the area to arrest the culprits.

Prime Minister Gilani will start his visit to Quetta on Sunday evening to hold a special meeting on the restive condition of Balochistan. The meeting will consider amending the existing rules and forming new laws for eliminating the terrorism and maintaining law and order in the province.

Last month, unknown miscreants increased the number of attacks in the city especially on police vehicles and killed 11 people including three policemen. After those attacks, the law enforcement agencies had tightened the security and checking in the city and also arrested many suspects but militants did not stop their activities.