Nazima Talib was travelling in a rickshaw when two masked men on a motorcycle opened fire on her on the Sariab road.

Police said Ms Nazima received two bullets in her head and was taken to the Civil Hospital in critical condition, but she died before getting any medical treatment.

CCPO Shabbir Sheikh said it was probably a case of target killing.

The body of Ms Nazima was sent to Karachi for burial.

A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for Ms Nazima's killing. He told reporters on phone that it was a reaction to the killing of two Baloch women in Quetta and Pasni and torturing of women political workers in Mand and Tump.

Nazima Talib had been teaching in the Balochistan University for 23 years and at present was an assistant professor in the mass communication department. She joined the university in 1987 when the department was established.

The 50-year-old professor was also a poet and short story writer. She is survived by a son. She lived in the girls' hostel of the university because her son is studying in Karachi.

The administration of Balochistan University has announced that the university will remain closed on Wednesday. The president of Academic Staff Association, Kalimullah Barrech, however, announced a three-day mourning and boycott of classes in protest against the killing.

The president of the Balochistan chapter of Pakistan People's Party, Senator Lashkari Raisani, condemned the killing of the professor, saying the government had failed to protect the life of teachers in the province.

Announcing a three-day mourning, he said the law and order situation in the province was being disturbed under a conspiracy.

Mr Raisani criticised the PPP-led coalition government in Balochistan, alleging that most ministers spent a big chunk of their time in Islamabad.