The move has been made to restore some semblance of normalcy in the metropolis, where more than a dozen people have been murdered in various areas since the early hours of Saturday morning, a testament to the failure of the police to effectively implement its Ramazan security plan.

The home department has notified that the ban would be applicable after Saturday midnight.

Meanwhile, the fresh wave of target killings continued in the city on Saturday when at least another eight people, including six supporters of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), were killed.

The deaths brought to 16 the number of people who have fallen victim to the target killings in the city in two days. On Friday, two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists and a policeman were among eight people who had lost their lives in shooting incidents.

On Saturday, five ASWJ supporters were gunned down in North Karachi in the Sir Syed police remit.

According to SHO Changez Khan, the victims were having Sehri at a hotel near Disco Mor in North Karachi when gunmen riding motorcycles appeared there and opened indiscriminate fire, causing bullet wounds to seven to eight people. They were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where Syed Atif Ali, Naveed Shahzad, Shaukat Mukhtar, Zahoor Ahmed and Hafiz Syed Sharjeel Ali succumbed to their injuries, while Hassan and two others were admitted for treatment.

The victims suffered multiple bullet wounds to various parts of their bodies. Three of the victims were students of the Quba Masjid seminary situated at a short distance from the hotel and lived in the same area, while the remaining two were residents of New Karachi.