Two People Killed In Attack On Opposition Lawmaker In Pakistan

Pakistani officials say two unknown assailants targeting an opposition party lawmaker after Eid prayers instead gunned down two others in the southern port city of Karachi.

Khawaja Izharul Hasan from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) escaped unharmed in the September 2 attack, but a police officer and teenage bystander were killed, local police and MQM officials said. At least four others were wounded.

Karachi police official Pir Mohammad Shah said one of the attackers was also gunned down by police during a chase. Police also said they had recovered a gun and motorcycle used by the attacker at the scene of the incident.

Hasan was greeting people after Eid al-Adha prayers when gunmen struck in a north Karachi neighborhood.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari tweeted that the attackers were in police uniforms.

The MQM, which represents the Urdu-speaking population, was divided after its self-exiled founder, Altaf Hussain, uttered anti-Pakistan remarks in London last year. He is wanted in many criminal cases in Pakistan.

Based on reporting by AP and dawn.com