KARACHI, Nov 29 A 48-year-old man was gunned down in Mehmoodabad on Monday apparently for sectarian reasons in a fourth such incident in recent weeks, fuelling security fears among people just a week before Muharram.

Syed Liaquat Hussain Nayyar Zaidi, the founding president of Pasban-i-'Aza, was targeted while he along with his nephew was waiting in his car at the Chanesar Halt level crossing, the police said.

While police investigators were certain that the victim was targeted by at least two motorcyclists, the officials were also weighing up accounts of some eyewitness who claimed to have seen two other motorcyclists giving a security cover to the attackers.

“Mr Zaidi left home in Mehmoodabad No 4 with his sister and nephew in his car,” said SSP Amir Farooqi of Jamshed Town. “He dropped his sister at Mehmoodabad No 3, bought some stuff from a nearby shop and drove to his destination with the nephew before finding the level crossing closed at the Chanesar Halt for a train to go past.”

As he was waiting inside the car, one of the two attackers who was riding pillion walked to him, pulled out a sub-machine gun concealed under his jacket and fired a couple of shots at Mr Zaidi.

“He was hit by a single bullet in the head and he died on the spot. His nephew, however, remained unhurt. The witnesses said as the firer was executing his job, his aide also fired multiple shots from his TT pistol in the air apparently to disperse onlookers so that they could escape without hindrance,” added SSP Farooqi.

He said that sectarian reasons appeared to be the only motive behind this killing.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. Doctors found a single bullet in the forehead of the victim that pierced through his skull. His body was later handed over to his heirs who reside in Street No 9 of Mehmoodabad No 4.

Father of a seven-year-old son, Mr Zaidi was associated with the construction business. More than eight years ago, he had set up Pasban-i-'Aza and kept it limited to religious activities.

His killing came as a serious source of concern for the religious circle that sees it as a part of a “planned campaign” aimed at causing sectarian unrest in the city ahead of Muharram. “It is beyond our understanding what prevents the authorities from taking action against the banned militant outfits,” said Allama Abbas Kumaili of the Jafria Alliance of Pakistan. “The elements against sectarian harmony have reemerged to disrupt the city's peace and it's solely the responsibility of the security authorities to move before it's too late.”

Only a day ago, a 22-year-old activist of the Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) was gunned down near Liaquatabad. The ASWJ — formerly known as Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and banned by the government several years ago — claimed to have lost three workers to targeted killings in November.

A large number of people in the evening gathered at the Irum Imambargah in Mehmoodabad No 4 near the victim's residence to offer funeral prayers. His body was later taken to Wadi-i-Hussain on the Superhighway for burial in a funeral procession that caused a traffic jam on Sharea Faisal for nearly an hour.

The police, meanwhile, registered an FIR (1327/2010) for the killing under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unidentified suspects on the complaint of Rameez Hassan, the victim's nephew.