US says Pakistani people have ‘right to choose their leader’

The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned the attack on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Sibi a day earlier, saying that Pakistani people have the right to choose their leader without fear for the country's stability and prosperity

On Tuesday, a bomb ripped through a PTI rally in Sibi, leaving at least four people dead and five others injured, according to police and witnesses.

Saddam Tareen, the PTI candidate for the National Assembly constituency of NA-253, who was leading the rally on Jinnah Road, escaped unharmed. The injured were transported to the Sibi district headquarters (DHQ) hospital for urgent medical attention.

Read more: PTI-affiliated election candidate from Bajaur shot dead

Police reported that initial investigations indicate an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted on a motorcycle parked by the roadside. The IED detonated with significant force as the PTI rally passed through the area, they added.

In the aftermath of the blast, all shops and markets along the main Jinnah Road were shuttered. Law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and initiated investigations. Security measures were intensified in and around Sibi following the incident.

Condemning the incident, the State Department, on its X handle, said that the incident undermined the electoral process in Pakistan.

“Pakistani people have the right to choose their leader without fear for the country's stability and prosperity. Our deepest sympathies to those affected,” it added.