KARACHI, Pakistan: Unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on a bus carrying members of the Ismaili community in Safora Goth area of Karachi on Wednesday, killing at least 43 persons and injuring 13 others.
The sources said that the bus was carrying about 60 to 65 persons while the victims also included women and children.
Talking to media, the Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Haider Jamali said that six gunmen entered the bus and killed 43 passengers while using 9mm pistols. He said that the terrorists came on three motorcycles.
Meanwhile, police and Rangers personnel reached the site and cordoned off the area while dead bodies and injured were shifted to nearby hospitals.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the firing incident in Karachi.
In their separate messages, they expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the terrorism incident. The prime minister also sought a report from the authorities on the incident.
The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah took a strict notice of the incident and suspended the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the Station House Officer (SHO) of the area.
In a statement, the Chief Minister expressed profound grief and sorrow over the incident and sought an immediate report from the Inspector General (IG) Sindh in this regard. He said that responsible of this heinous act will be apprehended at all cost and will be brought to justice.
Army Chief cancels Sri Lanka visit after Karachi incident
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has cancelled his scheduled three-day visit to Sri Lanka due to Karachi terrorist attack, according to the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa.
#COAS cancels his pre scheduled 3 days visit to Sri Lanka due to Kci terrorist Bus attack
— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) May 13, 2015
