At least 29 people were killed in a suicide attack on Wednesday in western city of Quetta near a polling station. Voting to fill 272 chairs in Pakistan’s National Assembly is underway amidst tight security.
ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber struck outside a crowded polling station in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta, killing 31 people as Pakistanis cast ballots Wednesday in a general election meant to lead to the nation’s third consecutive civilian government.
The attack in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, also wounded 35 people and several were reported to be in critical condition.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack, though Baluchistan has seen relentless attacks, both by the province’s secessionists and Sunni militants who have killed hundreds of Shiites living there.
Pakistani voters will decide today between the former cricket legend and playboy Imran Khan, and the party of ex-leader Nawaz Sharif, who has been jailed on corruption charges that he says are politically motivated.
Pakistan Muslim League chief Shahbaz Sharif cast his vote in the eastern city of Lahore soon after polls opened in national elections.The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided not to extend polling time. Polling will end at 6pm.
Two of the main players are the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party and former cricket star Imran Khan’s Pakistan Movement for Justice (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI) party.
Imran Khan set up his political party 20 years ago and while he’s been eyeing the country’s top job since then, he’s never managed to win power.
Imran Khan’s party came third at the last elections in 2013, there is again hype around his chances this time. His centrist party is popular with young, urban Pakistanis and pitches itself as a party that will end corruption.
It’s also said to have the backing of the country’s powerful military establishment but is likely to need to form a coalition with minor players in order to govern.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 3,459 candidates are contesting from 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies. There are 105.96 million registered voters in the country
.About 800,000 security personnel, including more than 370,000 army soldiers, are on duty to ensure security on election day, according to Pakistan’s Election Commission.
Army chief General Qamar Bajwa assured that military personnel deployed for election duties would strictly comply with the code of conduct given by the ECP.
Pakistan’s economy is struggling, and unemployment is a growing problem.China has also expressed its concern over Pakistan’s political future it’s invested nearly $90 billion in building infrastructure there as part of its One Belt One Road project.
