QUETTA, July 28: A shopkeeper belonging to the Shia Hazara community was shot dead here on Saturday, police sources said.

Unidentified attackers on a motorbike stopped at a veterinary medical store on the intersection of Kawari and Gordit Singh roads and opened fire on Haji Noor Ali, the shop-owner.

Noor Ali received multiple injuries and died on way to hospital.

The assailants fled. Police launched a search operation after cordoning off the area.

Noor Ali had been running his business in the area for several years.

Police described the incident as an act of targeted killing.

The body was handed over to relatives after autopsy.

The Hazara Democratic Party and Tehrik Nifaz Fiqah Jafria in separate statements expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan.

They said targeted killings had created a sense of insecurity and panic among the general public and badly affected the trade and business activities in Quetta.

Police registered a case and started investigation into the incident.

In Jafarabad, the son of a tribal leader was killed and his associate injured in Usta Mohammad town of Jaffarabad district.

Police said gunmen on a motorbike sprayed a volley of bullets on Mir Abdul Qadir and his companion Akbar Shah when they were passing through the Aliabad road.

Qadir died on the spot and Shah was injured.Police took the body and the injured to hospital.

The body of Qadir, son of Haji Mithal Khan Umrani, was handed over to the heirs after post-mortem.

According to preliminary investigation by the police, old enmity might be behind the attack.

Balochistan Minister for Excise and Taxation Mir Amin Umrani condemned the murder of Mir Qadir.