A former Pakistani interior ministry employee yesterday gunned down his entire family of seven at their home in the capital, police said. He used a shotgun and a pistol in the early morning massacre and later called the police.

Mohammed Nawaz killed his wife Kaniz Fatima (50), son-in-law Naveed (21), two daughters Aamna (18) and Aasma (23), two sons Kabir (19) and Qadir (21) and daughter-in-law Aasia (18) at around 2.15am.

Nawaz, who was on leave before retirement from the ministry where he worked as a driver, murdered the family members because of their alleged immoral activities, said police officer Khurshid Ahmed Khan.

Police suspect that Nawaz, who stayed in sector G-7/2 in Islamabad, intoxicated all the family members before shooting them dead.

Nawaz, who was also president of the government institution's drivers' union, called Islamabad emergency police and his brother in another town to inform them of the carnage. Police reached the site immediately, arrested him and found bodies of the victims lying in a pool of blood. They also recovered the arms.

Police said Nawaz, a Muslim, married Kaniz Fatima, a Christian, many years ago and the woman later converted to Islam. They quoted Nawaz as saying that last year his daughter Aasma eloped with her maternal cousin Naveed, a Christian, to Lahore and got married at a civil ceremony.

Nawaz was also angry with one of his sons for marrying Aasia against his wishes. Failing to control his children, Nawaz plotted to kill them, police said.

Nawaz called his daughter and her husband from Lahore telling them he was to undergo an operation.

The other members were staying with him. As Nawaz had already undergone surgery twice, all the members gathered at his home, where he gave them soft drinks containing heavy dozes of an intoxicant, police said.

Nawaz told the police he had also invited those relatives who had helped his daughter to run away and marry Naveed, but they did not turn up.

Besides the excuse of operation, Nawaz conveyed to the family members that he wanted to sort out differences with them. He told the police that all of them had fainted. He first shot Naveed and then the elder son Qadir.