Pakistan: Deadly blasts rock Balochistan on eve of election

Two blasts near electoral candidates' offices in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan killed 26 people and wounded dozens more, local officials said on Wednesday.

The explosions come a day ahead of the country's general election.

What we know about the blasts in Balochistan

In the first incident, at least 14 people were killed at the office of an independent candidate in Pishin district. A second explosion left 12 people dead in Qilla Saifullah, a town near the Afghan border.

Later on Wednesday, an offshoot of the so-called "Islamic State" group claimed responsibility for the Qilla Saifullah blast online. The group said its fighters "blew up a motorbike" rigged with explosives "at an election gathering" on its Telegram account.

Khanzai Hospital, close to the first blast site in Pishin, treated numerous casualties, some with serious injuries.

Jan Achakzai, caretaker information minister of Balochistan, said the second explosion "took place close to the election office of the local JUI-F candidate" in Killa Saifullah.

The religious party has previously been the target of militant attacks. In July last year, 44 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a political gathering of the party in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Balochistan has been the target of multiple groups of Islamist militants, including the Pakistani Taliban and the "Islamic State" militia. Separatist rebels have also been launching deadly attacks on the security forces and civilians.

"The wave of terrorism in Balochistan has been steadily rising and the most recent attacks are further evidence of how committed Pakistan’s enemies are to disrupting the already fragile democratic process," analyst Mosharraf Zaidi told DW. "Pakistanis have voted under a hail of bullets and the clouds of bomb attacks since 2008. This will be the fourth consecutive election in which voters have to worry about their lives whilst going out to vote."

Meanwhile, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric condemned the attacks:  "We strongly condemn the horrific attacks, and the bomb explosions that we saw earlier today that killed many, many people and injured many more a day before the elections, clearly related to the elections."

The Pakistani general election

Pakistan's 127 million voters get to elect a new parliament on Thursday that will choose a new prime minister after the vote. 

Authorities have said they are boosting security at polling booths following Wednesday's blasts. 

More than half a million security officers have already been deployed to ensure peace following a surge in militant attacks.

The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, said there had been a "staggering" rise in militant attacks in the past year with an average of 54 per month — the most since 2015, when the army launched a massive crackdown on militant groups.

However, Balochistan's Caretaker Information Minister Achakzai told DW that Wednesday's incident shouldn't have any significant impact on the election.

"There have been some incidents of security breaches in Balochistan over the last four weeks, but we had a very successful election campaign," he said. "Thousands of rallies, corner meetings were held, and the enthusiasm was outstanding."

Political parties have completed their campaigns and are now observing a quiet period leading up to the election as required by electoral regulations.

lo/kb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)