2 Bombs Explode Ahead of Democracy Party in Pakistan

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Pakistan holds the world’s deadliest democracy party. Photo/

ISLAMABAD – Two explosions near an election candidate’s office in Balochistan province, southwest Pakistan, killed 24 people and injured dozens more on Wednesday (7/2/2024). That raises concerns over security ahead of voting on Thursday (8/2/2024).

Pakistanis went to the polls amid a rise in insurgent attacks in recent months and the jailing of Imran Khan, the winner of the last national election, which dominated headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country.

Authorities said they were beefing up security at polling stations.

The first attack, which killed 14 people, occurred at the office of an independent election candidate in Pishin district. The second blast in Qilla Saifullah, a town near the Afghan border, went off near the office of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a religious party that was previously the target of insurgent attacks and left at least 10 people dead.

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

“The Election Commission has asked the chief secretary and inspector general of Balochistan to immediately report and instructed them to take action against the people behind the incident,” a spokesperson for the Election Commission said in a statement, reported by .

Khanzai Hospital, near the blast site in Pishin, put the death toll at 14 and more than two dozen injured. Pishin district deputy commissioner, Jumma Dad Khan, said the blast had injured many people.

The attacks came as political parties finished their campaigns in a quiet period mandated by electoral regulations the day before the election.