Gunmen Kill Sunni Muslim Leader in Pakistan

Gunmen shot dead a Sunni Muslim leader on Friday in the latest sectarian attack to hit Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.

The drive-by shooting took place as Shamsur Rehman Muawiya, chief of the Sunni extremist organisation Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat (ASWJ) for Punjab province, traveled by car to the northern Harbans Pura neighborhood.

The shooting comes just three days after gunmen shot dead a senior Shiite Muslim leader, Deedar Ali Jalbani, in the port city of Karachi.

"Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on Muawiya's vehicle, wounding him and his driver critically," senior local police official, Rana Abdul Jabbar, told Agence France Presse.

He said Muawiya and his driver were rushed to hospital where the ASWJ provincial chief died of his bullet wounds.

"We are investigating the incident but it apparently seems to be a target killing," Jabbar added.

The ASWJ spokesman Qasim Farooqi confirmed the incident and said the provincial chief was on his way to a meeting when the attack took place.

The driver remains in a critical condition, Jabbar said.

Shiites make up around 20 percent of Pakistan's population, which is largely Sunni Muslim.