ISLAMABAD (Reuters): At least nine people, including two children, were killed in militant attacks in Pakistan on Thursday as the country voted in a general election after suspending mobile phone services and closing some land borders to maintain law and order.
The interior ministry said it took the security steps after at least 26 people were killed in two explosions near electoral candidates’ offices in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Wednesday. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for those attacks.
As a result of the recent incidents of terrorism in the country precious lives have been lost, security measures are essential to maintain the law and order situation and deal with possible threats,” the ministry said in a post on messaging platform X.
Thousands of troops were deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country as voting commenced and borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed.
Despite the heightened security, five policemen were killed in a bomb blast and firing on a patrol in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district in the northwest, authorities said. Another person died in firing on a security forces vehicle in Tank, about 40 km (25 miles) to the north.
In Balochistan, a soldier from a civilian force was killed and 10 others injured in over a dozen blasts caused by grenades or improvised explosive devices, officials said, while two chidren died in a blast outside a women’s polling station.
Mohsin Dawar, a candidate from North Waziristan – a hotbed of Islamist insurgents in northwest Pakistan – said in a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), that some polling stations in his constituency were taken over by local “Taliban” who were threatening polling staff and locals.
There was no immediate confirmation from the election commission or security forces.
In spite of the security worries and bitter winter cold, long queues began forming at polling stations hours before voting was due to start. “The country is at stake, why should I come late?” said 86-year-old Mumtaz, a housewife a decade older than Pakistan itself as she queued up in Islamabad.
Besides the militancy, the election is also being held as Pakistan remains mired in a deep economic crisis and a highly polarised political environment. Many analysts believe no clear winner may emerge.
Unofficial first results are expected a few hours after voting closes at 5 p.m. (1200 GMT) and a clearer picture is likely to emerge early on Friday.
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