A senior official from Cosco Shipping Line Pakistan was shot dead in his car in Karachi yesterday.

According to local authorities, the incident happened when Chen Zhu, managing director Cosco Shipping Line Pakistan and Ye Fan, a trainee at the company, were sitting in their car while going to shop for groceries at a local mall.

An unidentified assailant opened fire from the front of the vehicle, with Chen shot in the head twice. He died after being sent to hospital while Ye, who was sitting on the passenger seat of the car, was not harmed.

Local police believe the incident was a targeted attack against foreigners and have started investigations having been ordered to take all measures necessary to ensure the perpetrators are arrested.

The incident comes nearly two months after China warned its citizens in Pakistan to be on alert after receiving intelligence reports about possible attacks targeting Chinese.

Thousands of Chinese workers are employed for the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. The Pakistan government has promised Beijing that it will deploy troops to guarantee the safety of the Chinese employees.