At least 30 dead in Balochistan explosions, day before Pakistan election

CNN —

At least 30 people were killed and another 40 injured in two different explosions in Balochistan province on Wednesday, a day before Pakistan’s general elections.

The blasts took place in the Killa Saifullah district outside an election office belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and in the Pishin district near the office of an independent candidate.

Twelve people were killed and 18 injured in the explosion in Killa Saifullah, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Bazai told CNN, adding that four of the injured are in critical condition.

The explosion hit 170 kilometers away from Quetta, where JUI candidates Maulana Samiul Haq and Maulana Abdul Wasay are contesting elections.

According to police, a large number of workers were in the office at the time of the explosion.

Shortly before, a separate explosion near the office of Asfand Yar Kakar, an independent candidate in the Pishin district, killed 18 people and injured 23, according to Deputy Commissioner Pishin Jumma Dad Mandokhail.

Those injured in the Pishin blast have been taken to hospital, Medical Superintendent Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Dr. Habib Ur Rehman said.

undefined —Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) at a protest demanding the release of the party's leader Imran Khan, in Peshawar on January 28, 2024.

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Initial reports suggested the explosives were planted on a motorcycle.

The blasts come amid rising tensions in Pakistan ahead of Thursday’s election. Violence has escalated across the country as candidates have been shot and killed while campaigning.

On Tuesday, Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner