Pakistani prosecutor in Benazir Bhutto, Mumbai attacks cases killed by gunmen

ISLAMABAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Friday shot dead a senior prosecutor in the assassination case of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the attacks in the Indian commercial center of Mumbai, police said.

Chaudhry Zulfikar was heading to the anti-terrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi when he came under attack, police officers said.

Slain Zulfikar was prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the country's superior agency investigating the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which had killed 164 people and injured nearly 300 others.

India had blamed the Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group " Lashkar-e-Taiba" for the attacks. Pakistan has arrested a senior leader of the group and several other suspects who are being tried in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.

The attackers, riding a motorcycle, fled after the firing at 7: 30 a.m., police said. No group has claimed responsibility and police said they are investigating motives behind the attack.

Doctors at Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences said that Zulfikar had received 13 bullets and pronounced him dead as he was brought to the hospital. Sources said that he had died at the scene.

Nisar, Zulfikar's son, was quoted by the local media as saying that his father had received threats from a banned extremist group. He did not mention name of the group.

Officials also admitted that they were also aware of threats and had advised him to be vigilant.

The prosecutor was to going to Rawalpindi to appear before the court in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

Zulfikar's guard was also injured in the attack near G-9 Markaz, a famous marketplace and also known as Karachi Company.

TV footage showed white color official car of slain prosecutor which hit the wall along the road after the attackers sprayed bullets at the car. The car also hit a woman, killing her at the scene.

The prosecutor was assassinated at a time when officials have claimed progress in the cases of Benazir Bhutto murder and the Mumbai attacks.

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