Three Sunni party activists gunned down in Pakistan

KARACHI, Friday (AFP) - An angry crowd went on the rampage in the volatile Pakistani port city of Karachi Thursday after three activists of a Sunni Muslim party were found murdered, police said.

Supporters of the local Sunni Tehrik (ST) party set ablaze two buses and forced shopkeepers to pull down their shutters in several southern neighbourhoods, residents said.

Riot police took up positions in sensitive areas as hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of the men later Thursday.

Two workers for the Sunni Tehrik party were shot dead late Wednesday while the bullet-riddled body of another activist was found early Thursday, police said.

"These were targeted killings," Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP.

He said police were investigating whether the killings were linked to political rivalry between the Sunni party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

"Police and paramilitaries are patrolling the city following the killings and tension in different parts of the city," Jamil said.

Tension has been simmering between Sunni Tehrik and MQM activists since Tuesday, when a gunbattle between rival workers left three people injured.

The MQM, an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, shares power in Sindh province where Karachi is situated.

The Sunni party leaders accused the MQM of intimidating rivals before local government elections to be held in July. The MQM denied the charges and blamed the killings on factional fighting within Sunni Tehrik.

Sunnis form about 80 percent of Pakistan's 150 million people while Shiites and other religious communities share the remaining 20 percent.

Karachi has a history of ethnic, sectarian and political violence. But the Sunni Tehrik has not been involved in sectarian clashes which have claimed more than 4,000 lives in the past five years across the country.