QUETTA: The Balochistan government’s public relations director and two policemen were gunned down here on Monday morning, police said.

Mirza Khadim Hussain Noori, 56, was going to his office when men riding a motorcycle opened fire at his car near Shahrah-i-Iqbal. The official, who was driving the car himself, died on the spot.

When armed men tried to flee the place, policemen gave a chase. But the assailants opened fire on them, killing Assistant Sub-Inspector Sangeen Khan and Constable Rajab Khan. Another constable was injured.

Police quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the policemen were shot at when they were about to capture the assailants who had boarded a rickshaw after leaving their motorcycle.

Police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies took the bodies and the injured to the Civil Hospital. The injured policeman was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital because of his precarious condition.

Police said Mirza Noori’s murder appeared to be an act of sectarianism, adding that he belonged to the Shia community.

The banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the killings.

A large number of people took to the streets to register their outrage over the shooting.

They took the body to the provincial police chief’s office and staged a sit-in, chanting slogans against the government. They also blocked the road by burning tyres.

The protesters dispersed after police assured them that all efforts would be made to arrest the killers.