Blasts near offices of candidates kill dozens on eve of Pakistan election

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

Pakistan goes to the polls on Feb 8 amid rising militant attacks in recent months 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, a town near the Afghan border – happened near an office of Jamiat Ulema Islam, a religious party that was previously the target of militant attacks, according to the province’s information minister.

Mr Yasir Bazai, deputy commissioner of Qila Saifullah, said 12 people were killed in the blast, which came from a motorcycle parked near the office. He added that 25 people were injured.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. Several groups, including the militant Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and separatist groups from Balochistan, oppose the Pakistani state and have carried out attacks in recent months.

Separately, a TTP spokesman claimed an attack on Feb 5 that killed 10 people at a police station in north-west Pakistan. Though the TTP has said it is targeting police and security officials, rather than electoral candidates, the attack raised concerns about security in Pakistan’s border regions as the country goes to the polls.

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

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

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

Jailed former Pakistani premier Khan 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 via his handle 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 Khan 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 called on people to vote, with an image of him and his brother holding a PTI flag. A PTI official confirmed the account belonged to Mr Kasim Khan, a rare social media post from 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 Sharif called on Pakistan’s huge youth population to support his party and took aim at Khan, who has previously attracted support from young voters in the area. “Don’t fall for him,” Mr Sharif said.

Supporters of the rival Pakistan Peoples Party also gathered in the southern city of Larkana led by Mr Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who could play king-maker if no one party receives enough parliamentary seats to form a government outright.

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