Blasts near Pakistan candidates’ offices kill 26 on election eve

ISLAMABAD – Two explosions near electoral candidates’ offices in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan killed 26 people and wounded dozens on Feb 7, officials said, raising concerns over security on the eve of a general election.

Pakistan goes to the polls on Feb 8 amid rising militant attacks and the jailing of Imran Khan, the winner of the last national election, who has been dominating the headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country.

The authorities have said they are boosting security at polling booths.

The first attack, which killed 14 people, took place at the office of an independent election candidate in Pishin district.

The second explosion in Qilla Saifullah district, near the Afghan border, detonated near an office of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a religious party that has previously been the target of militant attacks, according to the province’s information minister.

The deputy commissioner of Qilla Saifullah, Mr Yasir Bazai, said 12 people were killed and 25 wounded by a device planted on motorcycle parked near the office.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the two blasts in a message on its Telegram channel on Feb 7.

Several other groups, including the Islamist militant Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and separatist groups from Balochistan, oppose the Pakistani state and have also carried out attacks in recent months.

A TTP spokesman claimed an attack on Feb 5 that killed 10 people at a police station in north-west Pakistan. The TTP has said it was targeting police and security officials rather than electoral candidates.

Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement that its western border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan would close and reopen on Feb 9 to ensure security during the election.

Khanzai hospital, close to the site of the explosion in Pishin on Feb 7, put the death toll at 14 and said more than two dozen were wounded. Pishin district deputy commissioner Jumma Dad Khan said the blast had wounded many people.

The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ms Jane Marriott, said: “I’m appalled by today’s terrorist attacks and condemn those seeking to prevent people from voting.”

‘Don’t fall for him’

The attacks came as political parties wrapped up their campaigning in the quiet period mandated by electoral rules the day before the election.

Khan, in a message from jail, earlier urged his supporters to wait outside polling booths after casting their votes, as rival political parties held large rallies to mark the end of the election campaign period.

Any large-scale gathering of Khan’s supporters near booths could raise tensions because of what they call a military-backed crackdown on him and his party that has restricted campaigning. The military denies interfering in politics.

“Encourage the maximum number of people to vote, wait at the polling station... and then stay peacefully outside the Returning Officer’s office until the final results are announced,” said Khan on social media platform X, accompanied by an undated photograph depicting him wearing simple black clothing.

His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also released a video of him recorded just days before he was arrested in August, calling on people to turn out to vote.

Mr Kasim Khan, Khan’s son with British journalist Jemima Goldsmith, in a post on X with an image of him and his brother holding a PTI flag, called on people to vote. A PTI official confirmed the account belonged to Mr Kasim Khan, a rare social media post from one of Imran Khan’s children, who have previously stayed out of the public eye.

Electoral front runner Nawaz Sharif led a huge rally in the eastern city of Kasur with his brother, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is running in that constituency.

Amid a sea of tens of thousands of supporters waving green party flags, Mr Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister, called on the country’s youth to support his party and took aim at Khan who previously attracted support from young voters in the area.

“Don’t fall for him,” Mr Sharif said.

Supporters of the rival Pakistan People’s Party also gathered in the southern city of Larkana led by Mr Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who could play kingmaker if no single party receives enough parliamentary seats to form a government outright.

The former foreign minister and son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto criticised his opponents, including Mr Nawaz Sharif, for what he described as compromising the country’s security and economy during their tenures. AFP