PESHAWAR: The bomb disposal squad on Wednesday foiled two sabotage bids in Peshawar in the last eight hours by defusing bombs targeting election candidates of the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N).

BDS officials said the first improvised explosive device was planted to target the ANP’s provincial assembly candidate for the PK-8 seat, Arbab Nazir in Mathra.

Officials said the bomb, weighing five kilograms and planted in a tin can was defused near the office of Arbab Nazir.

Another bomb planted near the house of PML-N candidate for PK-7, Syed Abbas Ali Shah alias Mouzam Bacha, was defused in Bacha Ghari area of Pir Bala on Warsak Road before it could have exploded.

The BDS official Abdul Haq told Dawn.com that the bomb weighed about five to seven kilograms. Haq said the bomb was exploded with water charges as it was operated with a remote control and could not have been defused manually.

Police said the road was a routine patrolling route of the police, and the militants may have been planning to “shoot two birds with one stone”, targeting both police and the contestants at the same time.