June 2 – 8, 2014

June 4: Man booked for temple desecration sent to jail

A suspect allegedly involved in damaging an idol and destroying religious literature in the Shivaji Mandir in Kot Ghulam Mohammad, Mirpurkhas was arrested. The arrest came after the Kohli and Malhi communities had taken to the streets following the incident. The alleged perpetrator, Lelo Kohli, was from the local community and confessed to his crime while in police custody. Dawn

June 5: Blast outside mosque kills two in Karachi

Two men were killed and four others wounded after a bomb went off outside Al-Mustafa mosque in the militancy-infested area of Orangi Town. The remote-controlled bomb was attached to a motorbike parked outside the mosque-cum-seminary, which was run by the banned group, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat. Dawn

June 6: Prayer leader killed in Okara

A local prayer leader was gunned down in Okara after unidentified assailants entered a local mosque and opened fire at the prayer leader. Local police claimed that the motivation for the attack was likely to be personal in nature. Pakistan Today

June 6: Brother of ASWJ leader killed in Quetta

A man was killed and two others were injured in an armed attack by unidentified men in Mach town. The victim was identified as the brother of a local emir of the outlawed group, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). Dawn

June 8: 30 pilgrims killed in Taftan Bombing

30  people were killed and many more injured in a suicide attack on a hotel hosting Shia pilgrims in Taftan, a district on the border with Iran. At least one suicide bomber entered Al Murtaza Hotel and detonated the explosives strapped to his body in the midst of Shia pilgrims. The force of the explosion caused the building to collapse, increasing the casualty rates. The pilgrims at the hotel were staying overnight after their visit to various sacred shrines in Iran. Shia pilgrims making this journey have been routinely assaulted by militant groups. Sunday’s attack was claimed by a banned outfit Jaish-ul-Islam, and it was alleged that the group’s motivation was avenging events occurring in Syria. Express Tribune