14 killed in violence, firing incidents in Karachi, Pakistan

At least 14 people were killed in several incidents of firing and violence in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Wednesday. The firing incidents started early in the morning when a political activist was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city, the attackers fled after the attack and police could not find any clue about them yet. Police said that the attack on the activist seemed to be politically motivated and they would arrest the culprits soon. Later, eleven more people were killed in various incidents of firing across of the city, meanwhile two bodies with eminent marks of violence were found by the residents in the restive Layari area of the city. Tension gripped the areas where killings took place and schools and business activities were closed. Earlier on Tuesday, 14 people including two political activists of the Karachi's influential political party Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and four members of a religious group were killed in the city. The fresh wave of violence rose at the time when the relation between two major political parties, the leading Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) and its coalition partner MQM became tensed over the structure of local body management system. Local media reported that president Zardari, the co-Chairman of PPP called MQM's leader Altaf Hussain on late Wednesday night and assured to remove his grievances. The MQM's leader also appreciated the president's move, and the situation thawed between the two political parties. Karachi remained under the menace of target killing on ethnic, religious and political basis since the beginning of this year. According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an estimated 1,406 people have been killed in separate incidents of target killing across the city since the beginning of this year.