archives

January 20 – 26, 2014

Date: January 26, 2014

January 20: Shia scholar shot dead in Peshawar

Unknown gunmen shot dead a prominent Shia cleric in the historic Kissa Khwani market of Peshawar.

Allama Alim Al-Musvi was a locally renowned scholar who was walking to a local mosque in the area when he was ambushed. Daily Times

January 21: Attack on polio team kills three in Karachi

Three people – including two female polio workers – were killed and two others wounded in a gun attack in Karachi. The team – working without any security – was attacked in Karachi’s Qayummabad area.

According to eyewitnesses, two armed men had been waiting in the area for the polio team and attacked them as soon as they entered the neighbourhood. Express Tribune

January 21: 25 killed in attack on Shia bus

At least 25 Shia pilgrims returning from Iran were killed and 40 others wounded when the buses they were traveling in were ambushed in a car bomb attack. The incident took place in the Khusak area in Mastung, 45 kilometres from Quetta.

The attack took place when the convoy was held up by an abandoned car on the highway. When FC personnel went to inspect the vehicle, a huge explosion took place, possibly via a remote controlled detonation device. Daily Times

January 21: ASWJ leader attacked in Landhi

Unknown gunmen attacked Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Zarin Shah in Landhi. According to reports, the ASWJ leader was attacked by unidentified assailants in the area’s Labour Colony when he was on his way home after Fajr. Despite sustaining injuries, Zarin managed to escape the attack. Daily Times

January 22: Polio teams attacked in various parts of the country

An explosion targeting a police van in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district left seven people dead and nine others injured. The van was being sent to form a part of the security detail being provided to polio immunisation teams in the area. Dawn

Meanwhile, in another incident in Punjab province’s Bhakkar district, a vehicle carrying memebers of a polio vaccination team came under attack by gunmen. Although no loss of life was reported, a Lady Health worker and the vehicle’s driver were both injured in the attack. Dawn

January 22: Sikh man murdered in communal attack in Charsadda

A local Sikh trader was gunned down by unknown assailants in Tangi Bazaar, Charsadda. Bhagwan Singh was the owner of a well-known medicine shop in the area, and intital reports ruled out personal enmity as the cause of the fatal attack on him. It is believed that Singh was targeted instead for being non-Muslim. Express Tribune

January 22: Religious scholar killed in Tank

The son of a renowned Sunni scholar was shot dead in Tank Bazaar on Wednesday. Maulana Aizizullah Athar, the son of renowned religious scholar Qazi Habibullah, was also a cleric himself. The attack left him with multiple wounds and he died en route to the hospital. The unidentified assailants managed to flee the scene without being apprehended. Dawn

January 23: Girls school destroyed in Orakzai Agency

A government girls’ primary school was destroyed by militants in Kalaya in Orakzai agency. Explosive material was planted in the school which destroyed most of the building upon detonation. No casualties were reported in the attack. Pakistan Today

January 23: Blasphemy accused sentenced to death in Rawalpindi

A court in Rawalpindi sentenced a self-proclaimed prophet to death after convicting him of blasphemy. The Additional district and sessions judge also imposed a fine of Rs 1 million on Mohammad Asghar, a 65-year-old British national.

Asghar was arrested in Sadiqabad in 2010 after he wrote letters to different people, including a police officer, in which he claimed that he was a prophet. The court sentenced him to death despite claims by the prosecution that Asghar had a long history of mental illnesses. Dawn

January 24: Vaccination centre attacked in Swabi

A vaccination centre in the district headquarters’ hospital in Swabi was blown up in an explosion, which also damaged the facility’s dental block as well as several offices. The one-room EPI centre was completely destroyed, along with the vaccines and records kept inside it. Dawn

January 26: Police guarding Hindu temple killed in Peshawar

Two unidentified gunmen shot dead a policeman guarding a Hindu temple in the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan Today