KARACHI: At least seven people lost their lives in separate incidents of firing in the violence-ridden port city of Karachi on Sunday, DawnNews reported.

According to police, four people were killed and another two wounded in an exchange of gunfire between two criminal groups near Hawk’s Bay in the city’s Musharraf Colony area. SSP Police West Amir Farooq said that a man named Shahzad aka ‘Charlie’, who was also killed in the incident, was wanted by the police for over three years.

Police further claimed that both groups were involved in local gang wars.

Earlier, two bodies were found dumped at Liaquatabad No 2. Both victims, identified as residents of Liaquatabad’s B-1 area, were reported to have been kidnapped and later shot dead.

Meanwhile, another body was recovered from near Lyari’s Dua Hotel. The victim, identified as a police officer’s nephew, was also kidnapped and shot dead.

Karachi is Pakistan’s commercial hub and is home to approximately 18 million people. The politically volatile port city is ripe with ethnic and sectarian tensions, and is also home to several political parties allegedly with armed wings accused of extorting citizens and feuding among themselves.

Last week, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said at least 740 people in Karachi have lost their lives to ethnic, sectarian and politically-linked violence in the first five months of the year.

The figures include the assassination of 107 political activists, while the rest of the victims were people with no political affiliations, said the HRCP.

Last year, a total of 1,715 people were killed in violent flare-ups in the city, said the human rights organisation.