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Top govt official shot dead in SW Pakistan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-12 14:43

ISLAMABAD: Unidentified gunmen Monday shot dead a top government official in southwest Pakistan in what the police believed part of the targeted killings in the region, police said.

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Motorcycle riders sprayed bullets at Provincial Chief Inspector of Mines, Muhammad Ashraf, as he came out of his house and was heading to office in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

The gunmen fled and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Relatives protested against the killing and blamed the police for failure to protect lives of the people.

Police said that the killing of Ashraf is part of the series of targeted killings in Balochistan. Government officials, teachers and renowned personalities have been killed in targeted attacks in the province in recent months.

Police said that Muhammad Ashraf was critically injured and was rushed to the city's main hospital where he died of wounds.