Deadliest elections: Seven killed in unabated pre-poll violence

Election candidate shot dead in Landhi; saboteurs mount attacks in Balochistan.

MIRAMSHAH/ SWABI/ QUETTA/ KARACHI/ BANNU:

At least seven people were killed and 36 others injured as poll-related violence continued unabated across the country a day before the historic elections.

Three people, including an independent candidate for the Sindh Assembly, were killed in Karachi on Friday. Shakil Ahmed – an independent candidate for PS-95 – was shot dead by gunmen in the Landhi neighbourhood, police said. His campaign was being supported by the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi.

Khalid Hamidi, a spokesperson for MQM-H, confirmed the killing. He said Shakil was an active worker of his party. “Initially, he applied for an MQM-H ticket, but after the Election Commission rejected his papers, he re-submitted his nomination as an independent candidate,” he added.

An activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and a bystander were killed in separate incidents in Landhi. According to police, gunmen opened fire at MQM activist Altaf at an election office of the party, killing him on the spot. The bystander, Muhammad Ali, was caught up in crossfire between rival groups near Landhi’s Chiragh Hotel.

Tension has been building up between MQM and MQM-H in Landhi since April 25, when the latter was allowed to start its political campaign in the area.

Miramshah blast

At least four people were killed and 21 others injured in an explosion near the election offices in Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency.

The bomb was planted close to the election offices in Miramshah Bazaar, a political administration official said. Two tribesmen were killed on the spot and as many succumbed to their injuries at the Agency Headquarters Hospital, he added. Medics said five of the injured are in critical condition.

Separately, the office of an independent candidate was bombed in Frontier Region Jani Khel, while  an Awami National Party meeting was attacked with a crude bomb in the Swabi district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, no casualties were reported in both incidents.

15 injured in Balochistan

At least 15 people were injured in pre-poll violence across Balochistan.

The office of the PPP candidate for NA-260, Sardar Umer Gurgaej, was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb in Quetta’s Brewery Road neighbourhood. According to police, five people were wounded.

Another five people were injured when saboteurs detonated a bomb near the house of independent candidate Naeem Ahmed Khosa in Nasirabad district. However, Khosa – who is running for Balochistan Assembly seat PB-26 – remained safe.

Another five people, according to sources, were wounded in a clash between the workers of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and JUI-F in Qilla Abdullah.

Similarly, saboteurs hurled hand grenades at an office of the Balochistan National Party in Mastung, without causing any casualties.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.