13 people were killed and 58 injured in 13 incidents of electoral violence between April 20 and 26, 2013, compared to last week’s death toll of 23 in addition to the 54 injured in 13 incidents, according to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
Six of the incidents in the reporting week occurred in Balochistan, three each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one in FATA.
In Balochistan, two workers were killed in an attack on an Awami National Party (ANP) election rally in Kech. The deputy election officer’s residence in Kharan was targeted with a hand grenade in which his daughter was injured. Another grenade was hurled at a National Party (NP) leader’s house but no casualties were reported. In Nushki, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) election office was also targeted with a hand grenade but no one was injured. In Panjgur, a Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) leader escaped unhurt in a bomb attack. In Swabi (KP), an ANP student leader was injured in a hand grenade attack at the party’s election office. Another attack in Nowshera saw two Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers injured in firing at an election rally. In Peshawar, a bomb blast injured two PPP workers.
In Karachi, 27 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers were injured and eight killed in two separate bomb attacks on their election offices. An MQM worker was also killed in another attack in Karachi. In South Waziristan, two supporters of an independent candidate were killed and 25 injured when his election rally was targeted with rockets.
This week, 10 incidents of political violence left 15 people dead that included seven civilians and eight security personnel.
Balochistan was the most volatile region with six people dead and 74 injured, followed by FATA (eight killed), Sindh (one killed, one injured) and KP (two injured).
In Quetta, four attacks targeting the public left six dead and 74 injured. Another attack, also in Quetta, damaged a police station. A suicide bomb attack in Bajaur Agency killed four people leaving as many injured. In another attack in North Waziristan Agency, a bomb blast killed four security personnel with four others injured. One security official was killed and another injured in an attack in Karachi. In Peshawar, two people were injured in a bomb blast. A gas line was also blown up in Larkana.
