(MENAFN- Arab News) ISLAMABAD: A prominent Sunni Muslim leader from a religious political party was shot dead in a pre-dawn attack in southern Pakistan on Saturday police said.

Doctor Khalid Mehmood Soomro a leader from the pro-Taleban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party in southern Sindh province was offering his morning prayers when unidentified gunmen entered the mosque and shot him dead.

'Two armed men entered in the mosque and fired 11 shots four bullets hit Khalid Soomro and he died on spot' Tanveer Hussain a senior police officer said. Hafiz Hussain Ahmed a party spokesman confirmed the killing which took place in Sukkur town some 500 km north of Karachi the provincial capital and the country's commercial hub.

The killing prompted shops and businesses to close in parts of southern Sindh and small groups of party members took to the streets across the country in protest.

The JUI-F party spokesman said Soomro who served as a member of Pakistan's senate (upper house) from 2006 to 2012 had received death threats and had been attacked several times in the past.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman head of the JUI-F called for a countrywide protest on Sunday and asked his party supporters to 'take to the streets and hold protest rallies' but remain peaceful.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but JUI-F has previously been targeted by the Pakistani Taleban even though the party leaders have for several times acted as negotiators between the militants and Pakistan government.