Blasts, rocket fire and clashes leave dozens dead

Two Rangers officials killed in a suicide attack in Manghopir.

QUETTA/ PESHAWAR/ LAHORE/ KARACHI:

The country’s largest city suffered violence and maladministration on Saturday as residents made their way to the polling booths.

Up to 11 people lost their lives when a powerful bomb blast occurred near the Awami National Party (ANP’s) central election cell office situated in Daud Chali area of Quaidabad. The target of the attack was ANP candidate from PS 128, Amanullah Mehsud.

“Eleven people, including a two-year-old boy, were brought dead and 45 others including 11 children were brought injured to the hospital,” JPMC Accident and Emergency Department in-charge Dr Seemin Jamali told The Express Tribune. 

Eyewitnesses said the bomb exploded shortly after Mehsud’s security guards came out of the polling station situated at the Alamgir School. Mehsud himself remained safe because he stayed back in the polling station after casting his ballot.

Four people, including two Rangers personnel were killed when a suspected suicide bomber crashed his motorcycle in a Rangers vehicle in Manghopir.

Meanwhile, a young man was killed and five others were wounded when a low-intensity blast took place inside a passenger bus in Mianwali Colony of Orangi Town.

Similarly, another two people were wounded when unidentified persons threw a cracker in Frontier Colony in Orangi Town. Police believe Jamaat-e-Islami’s local leader Nawaz Khan was the apparent target of the attack.

Clashes between PPP and MQM activists in New Karachi Industrial Area resulted in the death of a young man while a local PPP leader, Noman Butt was gunned down by armed men in Lyari’s Kalri area.

The bomb had been planted close to a private school where polling was scheduled. A PML-N candidate Ali Akbar Gujjar contesting from PS-119, was reportedly arrested by Rangers for stealing ballot boxes during polling. Similarly, an MQM candidate for PS-111 candidate Kamran was reportedly arrested for trying to submit a duplicate vote.

Police also recovered firearms from the candidate’s car. In the controversy-hit constituency of NA-250, Rangers detained four suspects for allegedly holding up polling staff hostage at gunpoint.

Balochistan

In Quetta, assailants attacked polling stations in PB 4 Killi Shabo area, killing a child and injuring eight others. The office of BNP candidate Mir Ahmad Nawaz was attacked with hand grenades near Sairab Road. However, no casualties were reported.

A similar attack was also witnessed in Kuchlak area of the provincial capital where the election office of ANP candidate Naik Mohammad Kakar came under hand grenade attack.

Four persons died at the border area of Chaman when repeated firing was witnessed between rival political groups during election day. Similarly, polling stations in Espain Penza, Surab in Kalat and Kudabanda in Panjgur were closed after incidents of firing and grenade attacks disrupted voting. In Naseerabad, an Independent candidate Syed Khadim Hussain Shah came under armed attack, carried out by unidentified persons leaving four persons dead and six others wounded.

Meanwhile, Noshki, Kohlu, Dera Murad Jamali and Barkhan districts witnessed rocket attacks at polling stations.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Despite the threats, citizens turned out in large numbers to vote. However, there were scattered incidents of election violence.

In Peshawar, a child was killed and nine people were injured in two separate bomb blasts in Sheikh Muhammadi and Larama, Khazana on the outskirts of the city.

In Mardan, 17 persons were seriously injured in clashes in various polling stations in the district. Clashes were reported intermittently between ANP, PML-N and JUI workers. Five persons were critically injured in an explosion near a government girls high school in Takkar.

In Charsadda, clashes between Qaumi Watan Party and ANP activists left six people injured in Umerzai PK 19 constituency. A similar incident occurred in Swabi where workers of ANP and Islami Jhamoori Ittehad were injured in an armed clash in Ghazi Kot.

In Upper Dir a missile was fired from Afghanistan into a Barawal tehsil Nusrat Darra near a polling station. No loss of life was reported in the incident.  In Jamrud, 46 polling stations witnessed delays after armed clashes between groups supporting various candidates erupted in temporary polling camps set up for the internally displaced persons.

Punjab

A few stray incidents of violence were reported in southern Punjab. Two workers of PML-N were killed after firing between supporters of PML-N candidate Abdul Majeed Khan and independent candidate Sanaullah Mastikhel.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.