KARACHI/PESHAWAR: At least 31 people were killed, including 28 in a suicide blast outside a polling station in Pakistan’s Quetta city and 36 others injured as several incidents of violence were reported as the country went to polls.
In Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, a suicide blast targeting a police van killed at least 28 people, including five policemen, and nearly 30 other were injured in a blast near Quetta’s Eastern Bypass, The Express Tribune reported.
Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan province.
The blast took place near Quetta’s Eastern Bypass when the police van was targeted in the attack. The attack was part of a larger pattern of attacks targeting security forces vehicles and not targeting the electoral process, the report said.
The suicide bomber wanted to enter the polling station, a police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the GEO News.
DIG Abdul Razzak Cheema’s convoy was attacked. He is reported to be safe, according to sources.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district, supporters of two rival parties exchanged fire outside a polling station, killing a worker of former cricketer Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and injuring two others, police said.
The PTI worker was killed as party activists clashed with Awami National Party (ANP) workers outside a polling station for NA- 19 (Swabi II) and PK-47 (Swabi V) in Nawan Kali area.
Another person was killed in firing outside a Mirpurkhas polling station in NA-219 Dighri area, the report said.
In a separate incident, four people were injured in a cracker blast outside a political camp in Larkana.
Voting has been halted across Larkana NA-200/PS-11 post the explosion.
The voting in Pakistan started at 8 AM local time on more than 85,000 polling stations. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 PM and results will be announced within 24 hours.
More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections.
Pakistanis are voting to choose a new government in the second democratic transition of power in the nation’s 70-year history amid accusations of manipulation by the powerful army and concerns over the participation of Islamic hardliners in large numbers. (agencies)
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