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| India-Pakistan |
| PML-N candidate among 9 killed in violence |
| 2008-02-18 |
| Around nine people were killed and 36 injured in violence in various areas of the country on the eve of the general elections. In Lahore, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate from PP-154 and his two guards were killed and six others injured when some armed men attacked them outside the candidate’s election office, hospital sources told Daily Times. Jinnah Hospital Medical Superintendent Zahid Pervez confirmed the death of PML-N candidate Chaudhry Asif Ashraf. Also, a thirty-year-old man was killed and eight others injured when some unidentified armed men riding on motorcycles opened fire at the election office of PML-N candidate Hamza Shahbaz. Also, aerial firing was reported outside the election office of PML-Quaid candidate Hamayun Akhtar Khan. No casualties were reported. In Narowal, 12 people were injured as the supporters of a PML-Quaid and an independent candidate clashed in NA-116. FC men: Separately, four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed in an explosion in the Pir Koh gas field in the volatile Dera Bugti district when a remote-controlled bomb hit their vehicle. A pickup carrying seven troops hit a land mine, triggering an explosion that killed four soldiers at the scene, AP quoted local police chief Najmuddin Tareen as saying. The troops were on election duty. Sarbaz Baluch, a spokesman from a group calling itself the Baluch Republican Army, said it was a remote-controlled bomb that targeted the troops. He also claimed responsibility for the blast, giving a higher death toll of eight, according to AFP. “One vehicle was blown up with a remote-controlled bomb, killing eight soldiers and injuring more than 15 others,” the spokesman claimed. Quetta: In Quetta, ten people were injured in two separate incidents of hand grenade attacks on the election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and a polling station, App reported. MQM candidate Abdul Ghani, five workers, and four policemen were among the injured. Also on Sunday, two armed motorcyclists gunned down a sub-inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department in Quetta, according to eyewitnesses. Two masked teenagers fired at policeman Shahid on Brewery Road and managed to escape, according to eyewitnesses. Separately, unidentified miscreants blew up a railway track in Quetta, leading to a suspension of rail services in the city. Two feet of the track near the degree college in Sarayab were destroyed in a hand grenade attack while another two feet of the rail track were damaged in Kali Zehri, according to Online. The Chalatan Express was stranded in Quetta while the Jaffar Express had to stop in Kolpur. Meanwhile, rockets were fired on three electricity pylons in Kohlu district of Balochistan, which suspended the supply of power to the Mahawand locality. Dawn News channel reported that around 20 attacks or blasts were reported from various areas of Balochistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army has accepted the responsibility for the attacks, the channel reported. |
| Posted by:Fred |