Violent incidents claim nine lives in Pakistani city of Karachi

Separate incidents of violence have claimed at least nine lives in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, security sources say.

The local security officials said Tuesday the people were killed in incidents of firing and torture in different districts across Karachi.

At least three victims, including a policeman, were shot dead in Pak Colony and Quaidabad regions of the volatile city.

Meanwhile, police have also recovered six bodies bearing torture marks in Gulshan-i-Maymar area of the volatile city. The corpses were lying near the shrine of Ayub Shah Bukhari, considered a saint by Sufi Muslims.

The deceased were abducted and subjected to torture before being killed with the knife.

Police said a note reading “Stop visiting shrines — from the Pakistani Taliban” was found at the crime scene.

“People visiting shrines will meet the same fate,” a senior police official quoted the militant group as saying in the note.

Security forces said they have launched an investigation into the violent incidents.

Karachi has experienced a fresh spate of violence and targeted killings over the past few months.

Sectarian, political and ethnic violence in Karachi has killed hundreds of people in Pakistan’s main commercial hub so far this year.

The city is home to numerous ethnic groups and has been hit by clashes between rival ethnic and political factions in the past two decades.

Thousands of people have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001 when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US on the so-called war against terrorism, according to local media.

Since late 2009, there has been a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan and thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.