At least seven people including two policemen were shot dead and two other injured by unknown motorcyclists in Quetta on Sunday.
According to the police officials, four miscreants armed with automatic guns riding on two motorcycles and hiding their faces with masks reached a shop at the Sirki road and opened fire at people present in the shop.
As a result of the firing five people including the owner of the shop and his son were shot dead on the spot. They were including Najeebullah, Muhammad Nabi, Tariq, Muhammad Hassan and Abdullah.
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.
Two policemen deputed on patrol rushed to the spot but the assailants opened fire on them. Constable Hayatullah died on the spot while his fellow policeman critically injured.
They added that two people were also injured in the incident who had been shifted to Civil Hospital. The dead bodies of the victims were shifted to Civil Hospital for autopsy and after the procedure were handed over to heirs.
Police claimed that two attackers were wounded when police fired back but they managed to flee.
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.
It is pertinent to mention here that the incident took place just hours before the start of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s two-day official visit to Quetta.
The incident spread panic in the city and among law enforcement agencies as the city was on high alert due to Gilani’s tour.
Prime Minister Gilani is starting 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.