ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A Shi'ite university professor was shot dead in Pakistan on Tuesday in the latest incident in a wave of spiralling sectarian violence in the nuclear-armed country.
Tension is high in Pakistan this month as minority Shi'ites mark Muharram, an annual period of mourning that has often triggered bouts of violence.
Sectarian violence appears to be spreading after clashes between minority Shi'ite and majority Sunni Muslims near Islamabad prompted the government to impose a curfew and block mobile telephone services over the weekend.
The university professor, Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah, was on his way to work in the central city of Gujrat when gunmen on a motorcycle sprayed his car with bullets and sped off.
"He had barely turned the corner of his house when he was attacked," said policeman Amir Malik. "By the time the ambulance arrived, he and his driver were both dead."
The police officer confirmed Shah belonged to the Shi'ite sect that makes up a fifth of Pakistan's population and has suffered a rising number of attacks in recent years.
Most of the attacks are the work of Sunni extremists affiliated with banned groups such as the Taliban or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which wants to drive all Shi'ites out of Pakistan.
More than 800 Shi'ites have been killed in targeted attacks in Pakistan since 2012, including about 400 this year, figures released by Human Rights Watch in November show. (Additional reporting by Asim Tanveerl; Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik Editing by Maria Golovnina and Clarence Fernandez)
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