In one of the deadliest attacks, 130 Pakistanis los their lives when a suicide bomber hit an election rally in Mastung district of Balochistan, the southwestern province struggling against militancy.
The Pakistani government has announced one-day mourning while some political parties have briefly suspended campaigns for the July 25 election
On Friday, the Pakistani media focused much of its attention on arrest of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz after a court conviction in a corruption case.
But it has been a spate of bombings that has inflicted wounds on the people in the last few days with 22 people including ANP’s electoral candidate Haroon Bilou killed, in Peshawar and several massacred in Bannu and Mastung on Firday.
The victims in the Mastung bombing included Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, who was running for a provincial seat with the newly-formed local Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). He was considered a strong believer in Pakistani nationalism.
Balochistan police says a suicide bomber detonated in the middle of a compound where the political meeting was taking place, in Mastung’s Darengarh area.
The Mastung terrorist attack was the deadliest since 2014 when the Taliban killed around 150 people, mostly children in Peshawar’s Army Public School on December 16, reminding Pakistan of its ongoing struggle against militancy.
The blast in Bannu targeted a JUI-F convoy in Bannu district of north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.
Islamabad has ordered the national flag at half-mast at all public buildings in the country in memory of the victims of the bombings.
The BAP has also cancelled its election rally in Quetta today in memory of the deceased, according to Geo TV. The Pakistan Bar Council has announced two-day mourning and is boycotting all court proceedings today in condemnation of the tragedy.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by Imran Khan, has cancelled its rally scheduled for July 17 in Quetta, while the Pakistan Peoples Party has called off its rally in Batkhela, which was scheduled for Saturday.
Investigators are using forensic and other evidence before registering a case, which has been claimed by ISIS, which has found a base in neighboring Afghanistan.
The slain BAP candidate Siraj Raisani, was to contest election from Mastung. He was recently elected as the chairperson of Balochistan Muttahida Mahaz and merged his party with the Balochistan Awami Party on June 3.
His son Akmal Raisani died in a bombing in Mastung in July 2011.
The United States has condemned terrorist attacks in Pakistan as “cowardly attempts to deprive the Pakistani people of their democratic rights.”
“The United States strongly condemns this week’s attacks on political candidates and their supporters in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan. These attacks are cowardly attempts to deprive the Pakistani people of their democratic rights,” US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.
“We grieve with those mourning the victims, and hope for a rapid recovery of those injured. We will continue to stand with the people of Pakistan and the broader South Asia region in their fight against terrorism,” the spokesperson said.
