As many as 53 people were killed and another 65 injured in 26 incidents of political violence between March 30 and April 5, according to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
In the preceding week, 24 people were killed and another 54 were injured in nine incidents.
During this reporting week, five political party workers were also killed, 21 sustained injuries and 70 were intimidated in nine incidents of electoral violence.
Civilians formed a majority of the 123 victims – 22 killed, 41 injured and one kidnapped. Region-wise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the most volatile where 20 people were killed, 32 injured and four kidnapped, followed by Sindh (15 killed, 16 injured), FATA (14 killed, 8 injured), Balochistan (3 killed, 5 injured, 1 kidnapped) and Punjab (5 injured).
In the week under review, 26 political violence incidents were reported in 10 districts and two tribal agencies, compared with nine incidents recorded in four districts and three tribal agencies in the last week. Thirteen attacks were aimed at public, six targeted security forces, one each hit an NGO office, NATO containers and militants, and four damaged state infrastructure.
In Peshawar, a suicide bomber attacked a military convoy which left 12 dead, including two women, and 25 others were injured. In an attack on a grid station, three security personnel were killed and four employees of the grid station were kidnapped. A man was shot dead in sectarian violence while an NGO office building was damaged in a bombing.
Three incidents of target killings in Karachi claimed five lives and left one injured while two people were killed in sectarian violence. In an attack on a private school, the principal was killed while 10 students were injured. Two attacks on security forces killed five personnel and injured six others. In another incident, a policeman was killed in an attack on state infrastructure in Karachi.
In two incidents of counterterrorism in Orakzai Agency, 13 militants were killed and eight injured. In an attack on security forces in Mardan, a policeman was killed and four civilians injured. In Gujranwala, three policemen and two civilians were injured and several houses and shops damaged in a clash between Muslim and Christian communities. Three people were killed in a tribal clash in Kalat.
Three people were injured in a landmine explosion in Sibbi where three power pylons were also blown up by militants. In Quetta, two security personnel were injured in an attack while a former advocate general was kidnapped. Five NATO containers were burnt down in Bolan. A gas pipeline was blown up in Dera Bugti whereas a security man was killed in Khyber Agency.
Terrorism incidents affected people during the reporting week, leaving 29 dead, 51 injured and five kidnapped in 16 incidents – six in Balochistan, five in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four in Sindh and one in FATA. In counterterrorism operations, 13 militants were killed and eight injured in two incidents. In three incidents of sectarian violence, three people were killed and five sustained injuries. Five people were killed and one injured in three target killing incidents while three people were killed in a tribal conflict.
Nine electoral violence incidents left five dead and 21 injured while 70 political party workers were intimidated during the reporting week. Three incidents of electoral violence in Karachi left two MQM workers and one PPP worker dead, followed by two incidents in KP which claimed the lives of two ANP workers with nine sustaining injuries. In an electoral violence incident in Khuzdar, a convoy of a PML leader had a narrow escape in a missile attack while militants warned PPP, MQM and ANP not to carry out their election campaigns in South Waziristan Agency. The office of election commission in Kharan was damaged in a bomb attack. In Harnai, 10 ANP and two JUI-F workers were injured while 70 workers were reportedly intimidated.
