"The kingdom strongly condemns the criminal attack that targetted one of its members, Hasan al-Khatani, who was treacherously assassinated while on his way to work," said a foreign ministry official, quoted by SPA state news agency.
Saudi Arabia had asked the Pakistani authorities "to tighten their security measures around the consulate in Karachi and the Islamabad embassy, and on their staff," said the unnamed official.
"The foreign ministry is continuing its investigations in coordination with Pakistani authorities," SPA reported.
The Saudi diplomat was killed in a hail of gunfire by drive-by shooters in Karachi, the second attack on Saudi interests in Pakistan's biggest city in less than a week, officials in Pakistan said.
Police said Khatani worked in the consulate's security department and was driving a vehicle with diplomatic plates when two motorcycle riders unleashed a hail of gunfire at a crossroads in the city's upmarket Defence neighbourhood.
Karachi city police chief Iqbal Mahmood said militants fired four bullets, killing him on the spot.
Sources say that CIA-recruited gunmen have been penetrating the city according to intelligence reports which also suggested that similar incidents were likely in consulates at other cities also. The attack today has led to security agencies raising the alert level across the embassies and consulates in Pakistan to red, whereby additional groups of policemen have been deployed alongwith stringent surveillance of suspicious activity through CCTV cameras.
It may not be surprising that the CIA is behind the attacks in attempts to strain relations between Pakistan and its geostrategic partner Saudi Arabia both of whom have been increasing defence and security ties with China, a development that has been snubbing the US administration and especially its notorious intelligence agency for long.
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