March 26: School, Phone Exchange bombed in Mohmand
Militants blew up a boys government primary school, telephone exchange and a community health centre in the Atta area of Khewazai tehsil. Explosive devices had been planted in all three buildings that were destroyed. Residents said they heard several powerful blasts, which blew away the windowpanes of many adjoining houses. No loss of life was reported in the incidents and no group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. (Dawn)
March 29: Seven Shias killed in Balochistan
At least nine people, including seven Shias and two staff members of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), were killed and several others injured in armed attacks in Quetta and Mastung districts of Balochistan. Reports indicated that three staff members of FAO were on their way to work in Mastung in a hired vehicle when two armed men opened indiscriminate fire on them. In Quetta, seven people, including a woman, of the Hazara Shia community were killed while six others received bullet injuries. The incident was followed by a violent protest by Hazara Shias in different parts of the city and a police constable was killed in a scuffle between authorities and protesters.
The Frontier Corps was called in to contain the violence and police later arrested over a dozen protesters. The Hazara Democratic Party alleged that two of the protesters were killed by police firing, while police said they were killed by the firing of armed protesters. The violent mob also put four motorcycles on fire. (Pakistan Today)
March 31: Ahmadi schoolteacher tortured to death in Lahore
Master Abdul Qudoos, a well known Ahmadi school teacher was allegedly tortured to death while in police custody in the Rabwah city of Punjab. Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, 43, was taken into custody for questioning in connection with a local murder case. A family member informed that Qudoos was tortured ruthlessly during the interrogation and his relatives were blackmailed. He was later admitted to a local hospital where doctors tried saving his life, but Qudoos died due to several injuries and excessive loss of blood.
The spokesperson of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan, Saleemud Din condemned the incident, terming it ‘callous and inhuman’. Saleemud Din alleged that the real reason for the teacher’s arrest was to taint the reputation of the local Ahmadiyya administration of Rabwah. “Master Abdul Qudoos was the President of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya’s local chapter and he was arrested to defame the administration,” Din explained. (Express Tribune)
March 31: School destroyed in Charsadda blast
Militants blew up the Government Primary School Ibrahimzai in Sardheri area. Sources said militants had planted explosive devices inside the school building which brought down the two-room structure. The bomb disposal unit officials said that 12 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. This was the fifteenth school destroyed in Charsadda district. (The News)