Bombs ripped through two separate political offices in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than two dozen, officials said, the day before the country was set to elect a new parliament.
The attacks in Baluchistan province — home to a low-level insurgency and various militants groups — raised concerns about the election in Pakistan, where many voters are already disillusioned by political feuding and a seemingly intractable economic crisis.
Violence ahead of elections and on the day of polling is common in Pakistan, which has struggled to rein in various militant groups.
Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the country following a recent surge in attacks, especially in Baluchistan.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings.
At least 17 people were killed in the first attack at independent candidate Asfandyar Khan’s election office in the Pashin district, said Jan Achakzai, the spokesperson for the provincial government. More than 20 were wounded, and police said some were in critical condition.
Shortly after, another bombing killed at least 12 people at the office of a leading Islamist party in Qilla Saifullah, about 130 kilometres away, Acahkzai and local authorities said. At least eight people were wounded.
The leaders of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has close ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban, have been attacked by the Islamic State group and other militants in recent years. Party president Fazlur Rehman and scores of candidates from the party are contesting the elections throughout the country.
Low-level insurgency
The gas-rich Baluchistan province at the border of Afghanistan and Iran has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of the provincial resources, but later they initiated an insurgency for independence.
In recent years, Pakistan has struggled to rein in surging militancy, especially in the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban. Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups also have a strong presence in the province.
Ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday after a court found him guilty of revealing state secrets. The ruling comes one week before general elections in the country in which Khan and his party are barred from participating despite remaining a potent political force.
The outlawed Baluchistan Liberation Army has been behind multiple attacks on security forces in Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran. On Jan. 30, a separatist Baluchistan Liberation Army group attacked security facilities in Baluchistan’s Mach district, killing six people.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar denounced the bombings and conveyed his condolences to the families of those who died. He vowed that “every attempt to sabotage the law and order situation will be thwarted” and said the government is committed to holding elections Thursday in peace.
Achakzai, the provincial government spokesperson, announced a three-day mourning period, but emphasized that “the elections will take place on Thursday as per the schedule, and we urge people to exercise their right to vote to defeat those who wanted a delay in the elections.”
Violence ahead of elections and on the day of polling is common in Pakistan. In one of the worst such attacks, Pakistan’s two-time former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007, just minutes after she addressed an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Her son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, led the campaign for her Pakistan People’s Party until Tuesday night amid tight security.