12 killed in polling day violence

Victims include five policemen martyred in DI Khan gun and-bomb attack

ISLAMABAD:

At least 12 people, including 10 security personnel, were martyred and 39 others sustained injuries in dozens of militant attacks and other polls-related violence across the country as the nation exercised the right to vote to elect new leadership for the next five years, authorities and local people said on Thursday.

Thousands of troops were deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country and borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed as security was stepped up to ensure peaceful polling.

However, despite the heightened security, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) 12 people were killed and 39 others injured in 51 attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan
Through proactive intelligence manoeuvres and swift action, the military’s media wing said, many potential threats were neutralised, underscoring the unwavering commitment of the security agencies to protect the democratic rights of the citizens. During various operations, it added, five terrorists were also killed.

The victims included five policemen martyred in a bomb blast and firing on a patrol in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, authorities said.

Read: Hours after polling, nation awaits final results of elections

Officials in Dera Ismail Khan said that terrorists launched a bomb attack on a mobile van of the Elite Police, which had been deployed for the security of a polling station in Graha Aslam area of the Kulachi tehsil of the district.

After the blast, the terrorists also opened fire on the police. As a result of the gun-and-bomb attack five policemen identified as Sub-Inspector Sultan Yusuf Khan, Driver Zeeshan, Constable Muhammad Saber, Constable Israr Ahmed, Constable Ali Muhammad embraced martyrdom.

Four other policemen sustained injuries in the attack, who were evacuated by helicopter to a local hospital. Officials said that two of the injured were in critical condition. The bodies were later sent to their ancestral areas following legal formalities.

Another person died in firing on a security forces vehicle in Tank, about 40 kilometres to the north. Two children, and a soldier from a civilian force, were killed and 10 others injured in over a dozen blasts caused by grenades or improvised explosive devices, officials said.

Mohsin Dawar, a candidate from North Waziristan said in a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that some polling stations in his constituency were taken over by local “Taliban”, who were threatening polling staff and locals. The claim could not be verified immediately.

Earlier, the people braved bitter winter cold to vote in the high stakes elections that was marred by mobile phone blackout. Amnesty International called it “a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.

However, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the decision on mobile networks was made by “law and order agencies” following Wednesday’s violence and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would not interfere.

(WITH INPUT FROM REUTERS)