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Pakistan army before the elections: The security situation in the country is tense
Photo: Shahzaib Akber / EPA
The day before parliamentary elections in Pakistan, there were deadly attacks on constituency candidates. At least 12 people have died in an explosion in the office of a constituency candidate in the southwestern province of Baluchistan. 25 others were injured, a spokesman for the local administration told the dpa news agency on Wednesday.
The local news channel Geo News even put the number of injured at 30, citing a local hospital. The authority spokesman speaks of a targeted attack. It is not yet known whether the explosion was caused by an installed bomb or a suicide bomber. It is also unclear whether the constituency candidate was in his office at the time of the crime.
There was another attack on the office of a constituency candidate in the same province. According to a local police spokesman, ten people were killed and twelve injured.
Pakistan will elect a new parliament on Thursday. Due to the recent increase in attacks by militant Islamist groups, the situation ahead of the elections in the country with more than 240 million inhabitants is tense. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which despite ideological proximity is independent of the Taliban ruling Afghanistan, recently announced in a statement that it would not attack the elections despite their rejection.
asc/dpa/AFP