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PAKISTAN-ELECTION-SECURITY
9 security personnel among 39 killed in violence in Pakistan’s election day
ISLAMABAD, July 26, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – At least 39 people, including nine
security personnel, have been killed and over 150 others injured in terrorist
attacks and violent incidents across Pakistan on general election day, local
media and officials said.
In one of the worst attacks during Wednesday, at least 32 people,
including six policemen, were killed and 70 others injured as a suicide
bomber attacked a police vehicle outside a crowded polling station in Quetta,
the provincial capital of the country’s southwest Balochistan province.
Earlier, four people including three soldiers and a member of polling
staff were killed late Tuesday night in a terrorist attack in the Buleda area
of Balochistan, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media
wing of Pakistan army.
At least 14 other people were also injured in the attack, said the ISPR,
adding that security forces had thwarted terrorists’ attempt to disrupt
polling process in the area.
According to the reports, three people lost their lives in three different
firing incidents that occurred near polling areas on Wednesday, while at
least over 70 others got injured in multiple incidents.
Apart from the election day violence, the run-up to the polls has been one
of the bloodiest in the country’s history which saw a string of deadly
attacks by terrorists targeting candidates and their supporters, of which one
killed 152 people in Balochistan on July 13, according to police.
On the same day in another incident, at least four people were killed and
24 others injured in a blast that hit a convoy of a political leader in the
northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
On July 11, Awami National Party candidate Haroon Bilour was among the 22
killed in an attack on his election rally in the northwest city of Peshawar.
On July 7, at least seven people, including a candidate of the Muttahida
Majlis-i-Amal, were injured when his convoy came under a bomb attack in the
northwestern area of the country.
Overall, over 180 people, including three election candidates, were killed
and more than 200 people got injured during a month-long election campaign
held by candidates vying for National Assembly and four provincial
assemblies’ seats.
Polling in Pakistan began at 8 a.m. local time and continued uninterrupted
until 6 p.m. local time Wednesday, despite calls by several major political
parties to extend the time, but it was rejected by the election body.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a total of 3,428
candidates contested for the 270 general seats of the lower house, and 8,245
for 570 general seats of the four provincial assemblies, including Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh.
Pakistan’s lower house has a total of 342 members, of which 272 are
directly elected by the people, whereas 60 seats are reserved for women and
10 for non-Muslims.
Elections on the two National Assembly seats and six provincial assembly
seats were postponed due to death and disqualification of the candidates.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1158 hrs