By Amjad Ali
Islamabad, Feb 1 (EFE).- The campaign in the run-up to the Feb. 8 general elections in Pakistan entered its final week on Thursday amid a deadly surge in violence across the country.
On Thursday, three blasts rocked the restive Balochistan province, resulting in one death and five injuries — the latest in a series of deadly violence that has marred the elections to choose a new parliament and new government.
In Quetta, one person was killed in an IED blast, and four people were wounded in a cracker blast on the national highway in Jafarabad district, police officer Jamshed Khan told EFE.
The officer said a hand grenade was hurled at a security checkpoint on Aabsar Road in Turbat, injuring a pedestrian.
The surge in violence includes suspected militant attacks on election rallies, election offices, and residences of political party candidates, particularly in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, both bordering Afghanistan.
A local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) was killed, and eight others, including political workers and security officials, were injured in separate incidents in Balochistan. Independent candidate Rehan Zaib was also killed during the election campaign in the tribal Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), based in Islamabad, said there has been a 102 percent increase in militant activities in January compared to December last year.
The report documented at least 93 militant attacks across the country in January, causing 90 deaths, 135 injuries, and 15 abductions. The dead included 41 civilians, 37 security forces personnel, and 12 militants.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bore the brunt of the attacks, with 33 and 30 reported incidents, respectively.
The attacks on election-related activities, including candidates, surged, recording 21 such incidents in January, the think-tank report said.
Concerns over the escalating violence prompted an emergency meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Islamabad on Thursday.
“Elections will be held on Feb. 8 in any case, will not be postponed under any circumstances,” caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz told reporters after the poll panel meeting.
ECP spokesperson Nadeem Haider told EFE that more than 700,000 security personnel, including police and armed forces, will be deployed for the election duty.
The army, in its corps commanders’ conference on Wednesday, emphasized a firm stance against violence in the name of political activity and sabotage of democratic processes during the elections.
“No one would be allowed to indulge in violence in the name of political activity and sabotage the quintessential democratic exercise of conduct of free and fair elections,” the media wing of the military said in a statement.
The upcoming election is regarded as one of the most polarized political battles in Pakistan’s history, with the nation split over various issues.
One of the most popular leaders, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently incarcerated in Rawalpindi jail, faces challenges as his party grapples with a government crackdown and his supporters remain in jail following protests and attacks last year.
Khan was sentenced to 10 and 14 years in prison in two cases during the week. But the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has managed to retain a strong base of his supporters, mainly youth.
The polarization raises concerns about potential violence on polling day. EFE
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