KARACHI: A seminary teacher and a student were shot dead in a sectarian attack on Shahrah-i-Noorjehan on Friday afternoon, officials said.

A brother of one of the victims was also wounded in the attack, the police added.

The victims were waiting for a rickshaw near a marriage hall close to the Sakhi Hasan traffic intersection when they were attacked, said Shadman DSP Iftikhar Lodhi.

The police added that Esar Qasmi died on the spot while his brother Zia Rehman and Masood Shabbir were wounded.

The victims were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital from where they were taken to a private hospital on Stadium Road where Masood died during treatment.

“It was an act of targeted killing,” the DSP said.

Shahrah-i-Noorjehan SHO Asif Munawwar said that the victims belonged to the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). He added that the attack was the result of sectarianism.

The police seized nine spent bullet casings of a 9mm pistol from the spot, he said.

Some witnesses said that gunmen were riding a motorcycle while others said the attackers were travelling in a car, the police officer said.

An ASWJ spokesperson said that Masood was a seminary teacher in New Mianwali Colony of Manghopir while Esar Qasmi was a seminary student.

He said the victims were returning home after performing their “security duty” at the Siddiq Akbar mosque during Friday prayers when they were targeted.