| Submit your comments on this article | |
| India-Pakistan | |
| Pre-poll bloodshed kills eleven | |
| 2013-04-29 | |
| [Pak Daily Times] At least 11 people were killed across the country on Sunday, as hard boyz continued to target political parties in a bid to disrupt the upcoming general election. Eight persons were killed and scores other injured in two kabooms targeting independent candidates' elections offices in Kohat and Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. districts, officials said.
The blast also damaged some houses and vehicles, according to the local police. Had the bomb gone off minutes later, it would have killed dozens, Nasir Khan told news hounds, saying a political gathering was scheduled at the office. "The people behind this attack aim to sabotage the upcoming election," he said. 12 injured were at death's door. Two vehicles and windowpanes of nearby houses and shops were also damaged. Soon after the blast, the Rescue 1122 officials and police reached the site and shifted the injured to Lady Ready Hospital. Emergency was imposed in the hospital. The police and law enforcing agencies personnel cordoned off the area and started operation to trace the myrmidons. Nasir Khan is a former senator. The independent candidate is said to be a fierce critic of bully boyz in his Bara constituency, where paramilitary forces were fighting the Taliban for the last three years. The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of families, who are living in camps and rented homes. Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village our hero was receiving a quick lesson in aeronautics...... five supporters of independent candidate Syed Noor Akbar for NA-39 (Orakzai) seat were killed when his election office was attacked in the morning, according to Kohat police chief Dilawar Khan. "It was a remote-controlled blast in which five kilogrammes of explosives were used," the police official told local news hounds. "The IED was planted outside the election office. At least five people have been killed and 22 injured," Noor Akbar is canvassing for votes among the numerous Orakzai residents forced to flee the district to Kohat by army operations against hard boys. Fazal Naeem, a police front man in Kohat, confirmed the attack and told AFP the kaboom had damaged shops and vehicles nearby and also hit an office of the Awami National Party (ANP), which has been targeted repeatedly by the Taliban. "The election office was open at the time and supporters of Noor Akbar were sitting inside. The corpse count may rise, the condition of some of the injured is critical," Tanveer Khan, another police official, told AFP. Over in Swabi, a remote-controlled blast took place when people were leaving after attending the election rally of Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Ameer Rehman in the PK-32 constituency. Two people, including a seven-year-old, were killed in the attack, while 16 others were maimed. According to AFP, the bomb went kaboom!as Ameer Rehman drove past in a convoy of dozens of vehicles. Separately, a deadly blast claimed the life of a child and reportedly left five others injured on Sariab Road of Quetta city. The electoral procession of Shams Mengal, an independent candidate for PB-5 Quetta seat, was the target. Police sources said that unidentified assailant had planted a bomb on a bicycle in Faizabad area of Sariab, where the electoral procession of the Shams Mengal was underway. Police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site shortly after the incident and cordoned off the area. The dear departed and injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital Quetta. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, around four kilogrammes of kaboom was used in the blast. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) group grabbed credit for Sunday's blasts, as well as attacks in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... in recent days. Fear of attacks has meant there have been few large-scale political rallies so far, leading to a lacklustre election campaign. The TTP said it was attacking political parties because of their "secular doctrine" and because they were behind military operations in the tribal regions. A statement from TTP front man Ehsanullah Ehsan explained the hard boys' stance with reference to European philosophers. "Islamic laws and values are from Allah and secular doctrine is from Rousseau, Kant and Bentham," the statement said. "A man cannot be secular and Moslem at a time. These are two different doctrines in nature." | |
| Posted by:Fred |