Police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the cleric and his driver were both killed in the attack Saturday evening, which took place in the middle class neighborhood of Shah Faisal Colony.

Police said that when the cleric’s vehicle stopped in front of a busy shopping area, gunmen opened fire targeting the driver before firing three bullets that struck Khan’s head, neck and chest. The three attackers then fled on the back of a shared motorcycle.

Khan was rushed to a private hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, said the hospital’s spokesperson Anjum Rizvi. Police said the driver died before reaching a government hospital.

Pakistan has a history of sectarian enmity between Sunni and Shiite extremists. Attacks by both sides have claimed hundreds of lives, including those of religious scholars.

Counter-terrorism police officer Raja Umar Khitab said the attack appeared to be a “conspiracy to trigger sectarian violence.”