Shiite Scholar Gunned Down in Southern Pakistan

Gunmen shot dead a Shiite Muslim scholar in central Karachi as he traveled on a busy road on Thursday, police said, in what appeared to be a sectarian attack.

Allama Taqi Hadi Naqvi, a cleric who was also an employee of the government educational board, was targeted as he returned home in a rickshaw.

Pakistan has seen a rise in sectarian violence since a number of deadly clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups near the capital Islamabad in November.

"He was riding in an auto rickshaw when two riders on a motorcycle shot him," police officer Afaq Ahmed told Agence France Presse.

Hadi died on the spot as two of the bullets hit him in the face, the officer said, adding that the motive appeared to be sectarian.

Pakistan is rife with sectarian violence, often perpetrated by Sunni militant groups linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban against Shiites, who make up some 20 percent of the population.