Two blasts kill 28 in Balochistan day before Pakistan election
Two bomb explosions near candidates’ offices in the Pakistani province of Balochistan killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens on the eve of general elections, officials said.
The first blast killed 16 people in Pishin district, north of Quetta city.
The second explosion left 12 people dead in Qila Saifullah to the east. The Islamic State (IS) group said it was responsible for both attacks.
The vote has been marred by violence and claims of poll-rigging.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is banned from standing, jailed on corruption charges he claims are politically motivated.
IS said both of Wednesday’s bombings were carried out using motorbikes rigged with explosives.
Resource-rich Balochistan – Pakistan’s largest, and poorest, province – has a history of violence. It has seen a decades-long struggle for greater autonomy by various groups, some of them armed. Islamist militants, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), operate along the border with Afghanistan.
The bomb in Pishin, a town about 100km (62 miles) south-east of the Afghan border, went off in front of an independent candidate’s party office. The provincial authorities said 25 people were also wounded. Images on social media showed cars and motorbikes blown apart by the force of the explosion. Officials told the BBC the candidate was meeting his polling agent at the time.
The second blast targeted the election office of the JUI-F party. A senior police official told AFP news agency it took place in the main bazaar of Qila Saifullah, about 190km (120 miles) east of Quetta. Twenty people were wounded in the incident and the number of casualties in the two attacks could rise, officials said.
(BBC)
