
KARACHI, July 27: Two off-duty soldiers were shot and killed execution-style in a cemetery in a Karachi neighbourhood overwhelmed by faction fighting, police said.
The two soldiers, wearing civilian clothes, disappeared from a market earlier yesterday and were later found with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet wounds in their heads. One was found dead and the second died later in a hospital.
The Army refused comment.
Police linked the killings to a crackdown over the last 10 days in which paramilitary troops have arrested more than 500 people in Karachi8217;s Liaqatabad neighbourhood. Police did not say which of Liaqatabad8217;s two main factions was believed responsible.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered an immediate inquiry into the incident. Sharif took serious notice of the incident in the strife-torn city where tension is running high after the Muttehda Quami Movement decided to part ways with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League government.
Meanwhile, at least 16 people have beenarrested in a police hunt for the gunmen who killed the Army men. Police also besieged the Rainbow Centre in the troubled southern district in search of arms and criminals, police and residents said.