Pakistan’s National Elections
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Election Office Blasts in Pakistan Kill at Least 22 a Day Before Vote
Attacks against activities linked to the national elections, including the targeting of candidates, have surged during campaign season.
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The site of a blast outside the office of an independent candidate in Balochistan Province, Pakistan, on Wednesday. Credit...Banaras Khan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Zia ur-Rehman
Reporting from Lahore, Pakistan
Feb. 7, 2024
Two separate explosions outside election offices in an insurgency-hit area of Pakistan killed at least 22 people and wounded several others on Wednesday, officials said, a deadly reminder of the deteriorating security situation in the country as it heads into national elections on Thursday.
In light of such security threats, the Pakistani authorities have designated half of the country’s approximately 90,000 polling stations as “sensitive” or “most sensitive” and have deployed the military to secure them.
“Rest assured, we will not allow terrorists to undermine or sabotage this crucial democratic process,” Jan Achakzai, the information minister in the province where Wednesday’s blasts occurred, said on social media.
But such attacks against election-related activities, including the targeting of candidates, have surged as Pakistan’s campaign season has ramped up. At least 21 attacks occurred in January, killing 10 people and injuring 25, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank. Two candidates lost their lives, and several candidates narrowly escaped harm.
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The local affiliate of the Islamic State and several Pakistani ethnic separatist groups have taken responsibility for attacks on election candidates and rallies in recent weeks.
The first blast on Wednesday occurred outside the election office of an independent candidate, Asfandyar Kakar, in the Pishin district of Balochistan Province, about 45 miles from the provincial capital, Quetta. Dr. Habib ur Rehman, a district health official, said that at least 14 people had been killed in the attack.
By The New York Times
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A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 8, 2024, Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: Over 20 Die In 2 Blasts Before Vote In Pakistan . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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