On the day of Pakistan’s general election, bomb blast hits Quetta; 33 killed

Srinagar, July 25: On the day of Pakistan’s general election, a massive suicide bomb blast hit the Balochistan’s provincial capital Quetta killing at least 33 people. The most dangerous terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) claimed the responsibility immediately after the attack.

 

At least 33 people including five policemen were killed and nearly 40 others were injured after a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a polling station near Eastern Bypass in Pakistan's Quetta city. The attack mainly targeted a convoy of police DIG Abdul Razzak Cheema while it was entering in the polling station. However, he escaped narrowly and remained safe.

All the injured were immediately transported to the nearby hospitals after the attack. Hospital authorities said that the death toll may increase as few are in critical condition. On the other side, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi district, supporters of two rival parties exchanged fire outside a polling station, killing a worker of former cricketer Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and injuring two others.

The blast took place on the day of when general elections are being held across Pakistan. The voting started at 8 AM local time on more than 85,000 polling stations. counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 PM and results will be announced within 24 hours. The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country's history since its creation in 1947.

On July 13, 133 innocent civilians were killed and over 200 injured in two separate terrorist attacks on political rallies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This attack was the deadliest terror strike in Pakistan since a terror assault on an Army school in Peshawar in December 2014 in which nearly 150 people, mostly students, were killed.