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Explosions target candidates, parties’ offices in Balochistan
QUETTA: At least six people, including PPP workers, were injured in multiple hand grenade attacks in different towns of Balochistan on Friday.
Separately, a law-intensity explosion took place near the Provincial Election Commission (PEC) office in Karachi’s Saddar area, according to officials.
In the Mughalsarai area of Kalat town, three PPP workers were injured when an unknown motorcyclist attacked the party’s election office by hurling a grenade that exploded close to the building.
The injured party workers were immediately shifted to the district hospital. They were identified as Nasibullah, Zahoor Ahmed and Muhammad Ramzan.
Police officials said that two blasts with an interval of four hours occurred in the eastern bypass area of Quetta.
No casualties in minor blast outside provincial Election Commission office in Karachi
The first blast was caused after unknown attackers hurled a hand grenade which exploded near the election office of a candidate of Olasi Jirga, a local organisation.
Four people were injured in the attack. They were moved to the Civil Hospital by the police. The condition of all four injured is stated to be stable.
No casualty was reported in the second blast, which took place just a few kilometres from the site of the first attack.
Separately, two bombs were defused in Kharan while unknown armed men attacked the convoy of an independent candidate in the Mand area of Kech district.
The explosives in Kharan were planted close to the offices of a returning officer and a Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate, Mir Ejaz Sanjrani.
Officials said the bomb recovered near the election office of Mr Sanjrani was defused by the bomb disposal unit.
Mr Sanjrani, the younger brother of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, is contesting the election from NA-260 Chagai-cum-Nushki-cum-Kharan-cum-Washuk.
In Panjgur, the residence of the National Party provincial president, Rehmat Saleh, was attacked with a hand grenade.
The grenade detonated in the courtyard of Mr Saleh’s home, which was partially damaged, including the walls of the house.
The candidate’s security guards returned fire, but the attackers managed to flee the scene.
In another attack, unknown attackers hurled a grenade at a high school in the Jewani town of Gwadar.
The grenade exploded at the rooftop, but no casualty was reported in the incident.
In Kech district, a grenade was hurled at the house of PPP candidate Mir Abdul Rauf Rind.
The PPP leader was present inside the house but remained unhurt. No casualty was reported.
Armed men also attacked the convoy of independent candidate Mir Fida Hakeem Rind in the Mand area of Kech district.
Bullets hit at least three vehicles, including the candidate’s pickup, but they remained safe.
Explosion outside PEC office In Karachi, the office of the provincial election commission was targeted at night.
According to officials, the explosion created fear and panic in the Saddar area. South DIG Syed Asad Raza said unidentified miscreants placed a plastic bag containing explosives in the commission’s parking area.
A cleaner took away the shopper and threw it at some distance near the passport office, situated across the road.
The impact caused the fuse of the bomb to explode, but the explosive material did not explode as the time device was not activated.
Quoting the bomb disposal experts, the DIG said around 400g low-intensity explosive was attached with a time device. DIG Raza said the commission’s building was the apparent target. The office is located in a high-security zone of the metropolis, with the Sindh High Court and Sindh Secretariat a short distance away.
Imtiaz Ali in Karachi, Behram Baloch in Gwadar and Abdul Wahid Shahwani in Khuzdar also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2024
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