Karachi: Six bodies with their throats slit were today found near a 'mazaar' in this southern Pakistani city with a note warning against visiting such shrines.
The corpses were recovered near the shrine of Ayub Shah Bukhari on the outskirts of Karachi. Bukhari is revered as a saint by followers of Sufism.
Three of the dead used to work at the shrine while the others were frequent visitors, senior police officer Amir Farooqi said.
Farooqi said Muslim extremists might be behind the incident though this cannot not be ascertained without further investigation, BBC Urdu reported.
Police found a note lying beside the bodies that warned: "Stop visiting shrines - from the Tehrik-e-Taliban." A bloodstained knife was also found at the site.
Police detained some suspects and sent the knife for forensic tests.
No group claimed responsibility for the killings though the outlawed Pakistani Taliban have a significant presence in the port city.
The Taliban condemn worship at shrines as a grave sin and have carried out many bomb and suicide attacks at shrines in recent years.
In April 2011, at least 50 people were killed in a suicide attack on a shrine in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan.
