ISLAMABAD, Feb. 15-- An unidentified gunman on Sunday shot dead a religious leader in a sectarian-motivated attack in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, police said.

Maulana Mazhar Siddiqui, spokesman for a hardliner Sunni group "Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaat," came under attack when he was going in a rickshaw with two activists near the main bus station at Pir Wadhai area, a spokesman for the group said.

Siddiqui died at the scene while two activists, Muhammad Ibrahim and Shir Dil, were injured, spokesman Hafiz Uneeb Farooq said.

The two injured were shifted to hospital in capital Islamabad.

Police said two motorcyclists had fired at the religious leader and other members of the group. A police officer said the police had informed the religious leader about the possible threat to his life.

"We had told Siddiqui to share information with the police before leaving home, but he had not informed the police," the police officer told reporters.

Hours earlier, a senior leader of the same group, Allama Aurangzeb Farooqi, escaped unhurt in a firing attack in the port city of Karachi, police said Sunday.

A police officer Muhammad Akbar said armed men fired at Farooqi 's motorcade in Quaid Abad area after midnight. Several bullets hit Farooqi's car; however, he and others in the motorcade were unhurt.

No group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks. Rival banned sectarian groups are blamed for such attacks.