According to authorities, more than 20 people were killed and many more injured in two explosions in Pakistan. There were attacks on campaign offices – exactly one day before the parliamentary election.
One day before the parliamentary elections in Pakistan, attacks were carried out on the offices of constituency candidates. Both occurred in Balochistan province in the southwest of the country. According to authorities, more than 20 people were killed and numerous others were injured.
The first explosion in Pishin district killed at least 14 people, a provincial spokesman said. Some of the injured are in critical condition. The spokesman continued that it was a targeted attack. It is not yet known whether the explosion was caused by an installed bomb or a suicide bomber. It is also unclear whether the constituency candidate was in his office at the time of the crime.
Security forces are intended to protect the election process
In the same province, in the Qilla Saifullah district, another explosion killed at least ten people. The local authorities said it was an attack on the office of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Acting Home Minister Gohar Ejaz condemned the acts. Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces were deployed across the country to ensure a peaceful election. There have been repeated attacks in Pakistan recently, especially in Baluchistan province.
Separatists have waged an insurgency against authorities in the gas- and mineral-rich province for more than two decades. The groups demand independence from the central government in Islamabad. However, militant Islamists and a banned Sunni extremist group are also active in the province.