At least 30 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on religious procession of Shiite Muslims in the south Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday, a senior official said.

Ambulances gather at the site where a bomb blast struck a major Shiite Muslim procession in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009.[Xinhua]

Secretary of Sindh Province Hashim Raza Zaidi confirmed that 30 people were killed in the attack. Officials said that up to 50 people were injured in the deadly attack.

Angry mob attacked government buildings, markets, banks and torched vehicles in the Karachi after the deadly suicide attack on the Shia mourning march, police said.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, political and religious leaders appealed all sections of society for calm and restraint and urged the people of Karachi not to be provoked by the "most reprehensible act of terror."

In a statement the president said that the fanatics wanted to provoke frenzy and riots to achieve their designs and called upon the people not to fall into their trap.

Pakistani women wail at the site where a bomb blast struck a major Shiite Muslim procession in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009.[Xinhua]

A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by the extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another, he said.