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Pakistan politician Zahra Shahid Hussain killed in Karachi | Pakistan politician Zahra Shahid Hussain killed in Karachi |
(34 minutes later) | |
A senior female Pakistani politician has been shot dead in the city of Karachi. | A senior female Pakistani politician has been shot dead in the city of Karachi. |
Zahra Shahid Hussain was the senior vice-president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice party (PTI), led by former international cricketer Imran Khan. | Zahra Shahid Hussain was the senior vice-president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice party (PTI), led by former international cricketer Imran Khan. |
She was killed outside her home in the city's upmarket Defence neighbourhood. | She was killed outside her home in the city's upmarket Defence neighbourhood. |
Her murder comes on the eve of a highly-contested partial re-run of the vote in the area following last Saturday's general election. | Her murder comes on the eve of a highly-contested partial re-run of the vote in the area following last Saturday's general election. |
The reason for the shooting is unclear. | |
The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says Imran Khan has blamed the city's dominant MQM party for her murder, a claim the party has denied. | |
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, citing police, said the shooting happened during an attempted robbery. | |
Our correspondent says that reports of Ms Hussain being shot twice in the head raise suspicions that it was a targeted killing made to look like a robbery. | |
Ms Hussain was reportedly rushed to hospital but succumbed to her injuries on the way. | |
The partial re-run of the vote was ordered after Mr Khan's party accused the MQM of widespread vote-rigging and intimidation. | |
The MQM - which took most of the seats in Karachi - denies any irregularities. | |
Karachi is torn by regular violence - much of it politically motivated. |