Thousands of mourners in Islamabad attend funeral for Pakistani cleric gunned down in broad daylight

Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric gunned down in broad daylight on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, police and and a spokesman for the cleric's organisation said.

The funeral of Masoodur Rehman Usmani was held a day after unidentified gunmen shot and killed him and wounded his driver in the neighbourhood of Ghauri town, according to a statement issued by the Islamabad police.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which is a rare occurrence near Islamabad. Police said they were using closed-circuit TV footage to track down the attackers, and vowed that they would be arrested and brought to justice.

Authorities in Islamabad have stepped up security by deploying additional police and some embassies were advising their nationals to avoid visiting the area where the funeral for Usmani was to be held.

Usmani was a deputy secretary at his Sunni Ulema Council, which emerged after Pakistan outlawed the Sipah-e-Sahaba extremist group, which has been accused of killing thousands of Shiites in recent decades across the country.

Sunni Muslim clerics in their speeches at the funeral asked the government to ensure the arrest of those responsible for the killing of Usmani.

Pakistan has suffered frequent sectarian violence between the majority Sunni and minority Shiite groups, but authorities say it is still unclear who was behind the killing of Usmani, though mourners at his funeral were seen chanting slogans against Shiites and neighbouring Iran, which is often accused by Sunni groups of backing Shiite organisations in Pakistan.

Most Sunnis and Shiites live together peacefully in Pakistan, though tensions have existed for decades.