On Wednesday, a leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) was killed, and numerous individuals, including paramilitary forces personnel, were injured in ten separate attacks on election candidates in Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah, Quetta, Khuzdar, Hub Chowki, Kalat, and Kech districts.
According to reports, motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead an ANP leader in the Mezai Adda area of Qila Abdullah district, while another party worker named Moin Khan sustained injuries in the attack. Subsequently, the assailants fled the scene on their motorcycle.
Paramilitary Levies personnel promptly arrived at the location, initiating an investigation into the incident. The Levies sources identified the deceased as ANP leader Zahoor Ahmed. In the aftermath, people blocked the Quetta-Chaman highway in protest against the targeted killing.
The ANP, in a media statement, confirmed the incident and expressed deep concern. The party called on the provincial government to ensure the safety of its supporters and leaders.
In a separate incident, at least five people were injured when an explosion occurred at the election office of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saryab Road in Quetta.
According to the police, a grenade attack targeted the PPP election office near Gahi Khan Chowk on Saryab Road. Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot upon receiving the report, and the injured individuals were transported to a hospital.
Meanwhile, ASI Ghulam Raza suffered injuries in another grenade attack at Shalkot Police station in Quetta.
A hand grenade was also hurled at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) election office in Hub, which failed to explode.
In two additional incidents, unidentified armed men targeted a police post in the Khatan area of Khuzdar and the residence of PPP candidate Agha Shakeel Durrani in Khuzdar city.
A police officer sustained injuries in the attack on the police post, while details regarding damage or casualties in the second blast on the PPP candidate were unclear at the time of this report. Local sources reported several incidents of firing in the city post-attack, with FC and police patrolling the area and blockades established at various locations.
In another development, unidentified individuals targeted the PPP election office in the Mangochar area of Kalat with a hand grenade. The blast partially damaged the building, but no loss of life was reported.
Similarly, unidentified individuals targeted the house of former minister and PPP candidate Zahoor Ahmed Buledi in Mehnaz area of Buleda with hand grenades. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.
Moreover, Pakistani paramilitary forces Frontier Corps (FC) reportedly faced two separate attacks in the Kech district of Balochistan.
The first attack took place at the checkpoint of the FC in the Jusak, outskirts of Turbat city, while another was reported on the M-8 CPEC highway in Karki, Tejaban of Kech district. Reliable sources confirmed that Pakistani forces suffered casualties in both attacks, prompting increased security measures in the aforementioned area.
As of the report filing, no armed group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
It’s worth noting that Baloch “pro-independence” groups have rejected the Pakistani elections in Balochistan and have warned of attacks on election campaigns across the region. The armed groups have also advised the public to stay away from election campaigns.