At least 29 people were killed and dozens injured in two separate bomb blasts outside the offices of election candidates in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on Wednesday, February 7th (18th century).
These explosions took place a day before the February 8 elections in Pakistan.
The first explosion was caused by a landmine placed in front of the office of an independent candidate in Pashhin district, about 50 kilometers away from Quetta city, and 17 people were killed.
Acting Information Minister of Balochistan John Achakzai and Quetta Police said that 25 people were injured in this incident.
According to Achakzai, the second explosion occurred near the election campaign office of a candidate of the Jamiat Ulema Islam Party in the city of Qala Saifullah. He told AFP that at least 12 people were killed and 29 others were injured in this incident.
“The incident took place in the city’s central market, and the election campaign office of Jamiat Ulema Islam was targeted,” a senior police official told AFP.
In July last year, 44 people were killed in a suicide attack on a meeting of this party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Increase in attacks in Pakistan
Concerns have been expressed about fraud in the February 8 elections in Pakistan, and so far dozens of attacks have been made on election candidates and election campaign meetings.
Election campaigns in Pakistan ended on Tuesday night. Voting is scheduled to start at 8:00 AM local time on Thursday and continue until 5:00 PM.
About 128 million of Pakistan’s 240 million people are eligible to vote. Nearly 18,000 candidates are running for seats in the national and four state assemblies.
“We have to ensure security measures at every level,” Sindh police chief Rafat Mukhtar told a news conference in the port city of Karachi on Wednesday.
The Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said there had been a “shocking” increase in militant attacks over the past year, with an average of 54 attacks per month.
This is the highest level of militant attacks in Pakistan since the Pakistan Army’s massive operation against militants in 2015.
Observers say that the winner of Thursday’s election in Pakistan will take the reins of a Pakistan that is deeply divided and its economy is at a standstill.