Twin blasts kill 26 as Pak polls today

QUETTA, Feb 07 (Agencies): A pair of bombings at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in southwest Pakistan killed at least 26 people and wounded more than two dozen others, officials said Wednesday, the day before parliamentary elections are to be held.
Pakistan holds its national elections today (Thursday) as the country grapples with an economic crisis and political uncertainty following the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022.
More than half a million security officers were deploying ahead of Thursday's election, with authorities distributing ballot papers to more than 90,000 polling stations.
There have been multiple security incidents in the run-up to the vote, with at least two candidates shot dead and dozens more targeted in attacks across the country.
"The aim of today's blasts was to sabotage the election," said Jan Achakzai, caretaker information minister for Balochistan province, where the blasts happened.
"Despite today's blasts, the election will take place tomorrow. People of Balochistan will come out tomorrow without any fear."
The first attack hit the election office of Asfandyar Khan in Pashin, a district in Baluchistan province, said Jan Achakzai, the spokesperson for the provincial government.
Officials said at least 15 people were killed in the attack and the wounded are being transported to a nearby hospital. Police said some of them were listed in critical condition.
Later Wednesday, another bombing at the elections office of politician Fazlur Rehman's Jamiat Ulema Islam party in Qilla Saifullah town of Baluchistan killed at least 11 people, Acahkzai and local authorities said.
JUI is one of the leading radical Islamist party and is known for backing the Afghan Taliban.
JUI's religious schools are spread across the country, especially in the northwest and Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan.
Many of Afghanistan's Taliban leaders studied at Islamic seminaries operated by JUI, yet Rehman and his party leaders in recent years have been attacked by the Islamic State group and other militants. Rehman and scores of candidates from his party are contesting the elections from various parts of Pakistan.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came a day before Pakistan holds parliamentary elections.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar denounced the bombings in Baluchistan, and conveyed his condolences to the families of those who died. He vowed that "every attempt to sabotage the law and order situation will be thwarted."
Kakar said the government is committed to holding elections in a peaceful environment.
In recent years, Pakistan has struggled to rein in surging militancy. Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups also have a strong presence in the Baluchistan province and have targeted civilians in recent years.
Campaigning officially ended on Tuesday night and voting is due to begin at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) today, closing at 5:00 pm.
The figures are staggering in a country of 240 million people -- the world's fifth most populous -- with around 128 million eligible to vote.
Nearly 18,000 candidates are standing for seats in the national and four provincial assemblies, with 266 seats directly contested in the former -- an additional 70 reserved for women and minorities -- and 749 places in the regional parliaments.
"We must ensure security measures at every level," Sindh provincial police chief Rafat Mukhtar told a news briefing Wednesday in the port city of Karachi.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, said there had been a "staggering" rise in militant attacks in the past year with an average of 54 per month -- the most since 2015, when the army launched a massive crackdown on militant groups.
Whoever wins takes over a deeply divided country, observers say, with the economy in tatters.
Inflation is galloping at nearly 30 percent, the rupee has been in free fall for three years and a balance-of-payments deficit has frozen imports, severely hampering industrial growth.
Pollsters have said the election has left the population at its most "discouraged" in years.
"The political atmosphere ahead of Pakistan's first general election since 2018 is equally as glum as the economic one," the polling agency Gallup said.
"Seven in 10 Pakistanis lack confidence in the honesty of their elections. While this ties previous highs, it nevertheless represents a significant regression in recent years."