Wed 07 February 2024:
A day before parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place, two bombs targeting the election headquarters of an independent candidate and a political party in southwest Pakistan have left over fifty people injured and at least twenty-eight dead.
The first attack, which killed 16 people, took place at the office of independent election candidate Asfandyar Khan Kakar in Pishin district near the border with Afghanistan, said Jan Achakzai, Balochistan’s caretaker information minister.
More than 20 people were reported wounded in the blast, and police said some were in critical condition.
The second explosion in Qilla Saifullah detonated near an office of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a religious party that has previously been the target of attacks.
At least 12 people were killed in that attack, Achakzai said. At least eight more were injured.
Update on the twin blasts in #Balochistan:#Pishin blast: 16 victims#QillaSaifullah blast: 12 victims
Regrettably, we are apprehensive that the numbers of martyrs may rise.
Yet we have revisited security protocols.
Tomorrow inshallah, people of Balochistan will exercise…
— Jan Achakzai / جان اچکزئی (@Jan_Achakzai) February 7, 2024
The blast in Pishin was the result of an improvised explosive device attached to a motorcycle, he added.
In response to the dual attacks, the foreign office said in a statement that its western border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan would close until Friday to ensure security during the election.
Heightened security concerns
No group has yet claimed responsibility as attacks have risen in recent months as Pakistan prepares to go to the polls on Thursday.
The bombings have raised worries over security during the vote, and authorities said they will boost security at polling booths.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has stepped up attacks in recent months. Last week, at least 15 people were killed when the BLA targeted military and security installations in the city of Mach, 65km (40 miles) south of Balochistan’s capital, Quetta.
The restive region, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important because of its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves. Cities in the province are a constant target of armed groups. Baloch nationalists initially wanted a larger share of the province’s resources but later initiated a movement for independence.
Fearing violence during Thursday’s elections, Achakzai had announced on Sunday night that internet service will be temporarily restricted on election day.
Pakistani forces are also facing growing security threats in the the remote northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPJ) has a lso increased its violent activity.
The group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Monday in which at least 10 police officers were killed.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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