Suicide bombing leaves 31 dead as Pakistan holds general election

ISLAMABAD – A suicide bomber knocked on the outside of a crowded polling station in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing 31 people while Pakistanis voted Wednesday for a general election ahead result in the third consecutive civilian government. Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, has also wounded 35 people and several are reportedly in critical condition, raising fears that the death toll will continue to rise, according to hospital doctor Jaffar Kakar. , a doctor

. Abdul Haleem said that he had seen a motorcycle enter the crowd of voters just seconds before the blast. Haleem's uncle was killed in the blast

"There was a deafening roar followed by a thick cloud of smoke and dust and so much crying from the wounded," he said. he told the Associated Press. The Wednesday bombing

Baluchistan also experienced the worst violence during the election campaign earlier this month, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a rally. killing 149 people, including candidate Siraj Raisani. 400 others were injured. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, although Baluchistan has been under constant attack by both secessionists in the province and Sunni militants who have killed hundreds of Shiites living there. In recent years, the ISI affiliate in the region has emerged as a major force behind the violence, often using local Sunni radicals from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to carry out its attacks.

Citing security concerns, the Pakistan Election Commission announced that Internet and mobile phone services in several districts of Baluchistan have been suspended. Election commission secretary Babar Yaqub said threats were being made against polling stations, staff and even candidates.

Activists threw grenades and fired on a military convoy escorting election officials in Turbat District. At the request of the electoral commission, the Pakistani army deployed 350,000 soldiers in the country's polling stations

On Wednesday, police said that a shootout between supporters of two opposing political parties had killed one person and injured two others in a village. near the northwestern town of Swabi. Later, other clashes between rival political parties killed another person and injured 15 others across the country.

Earlier voting was heavy in some polling stations in Islamabad, the capital and in the provincial capital of Punjab.

Rights groups warned that a vindictive campaign and many allegations of manipulation were jeopardizing the wobbly transition to a democratic regime and increasing the number of votes. The unprecedented participation in these elections of radical religious groups, including those banned for terrorist links, but resuscitated and renowned, has also raised concerns – particularly for minorities and women – ahead of Jibran Nasir, a candidate independent of the Pakistani financial center of Karachi, said he received death threats and even a fatwa, or religious edict, issued against him after refusing to condemn Ahmadiyya, insulted by Muslims as heretics because they believe the messiah Promised in Islam happened more than a century ago. Pakistan declared non-Muslim Ahmadis in 1974. "I speak on behalf of millions of Pakistanis who are too afraid to confront religious fanaticism," said Nasir, adding that no arrest has occurred. been made of those who threatened him.

The main candidates for Wednesday's polls are former cricket star Imran Khan and his party in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and the Muslim League of Pakistan, the party of disgraced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in prison serving 10 years on charges of corruption. His younger brother Shahbaz Sharif took control of the party.

Khan's followers watered his vehicle with rose petals while he arrived to vote in a polling station near his suburb in Islamabad. After voting, he called on the Pakistanis to vote mbadively "to save future generations".

The third party in the running is the Pakistan People's Left Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto, the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, murdered by the Pakistani Taliban, whom she had sworn to 39; eradicate.

Electoral authorities say more than 11,000 candidates run for 270 seats in the Pakistani legislature and 577 seats in four provincial bademblies.

The 85,307 polling stations opened at 8:00 am and will continue for 10 hours, an hour longer than in the 2013 elections. The vote for two parliamentary seats and six provincial badembly seats was postponed due to of attacks against candidates or disqualifications. First results are expected early Thursday

There are more than 105 million eligible voters in Pakistan, 59 million men and 46 million women.

The Pakistani Electoral Commission reminds candidates that their elections will be canceled if women's participation does not reach 10 percent. This requirement was imposed after the 2013 elections, when several regions banned the vote of women, mainly in northwestern Pakistan, religiously conservative. Some candidates were elected without a single woman casting a vote.

The commission issued its reminder on Tuesday after veteran rights activist Tahira Abdullah said that local jirgas, or councils, from 60 old regions of the country, representing 16 different constituencies, had signed . agreements prohibiting women from voting despite the new decision. While some regions refused to give in, others allowed women to vote

In northern Waziristan, in northern Pakistan, where Taliban insurgents took refuge, women voted for the first time on Wednesday said Mohamad Ayaz Khan. , a government administrator.

"We did the story today," Khan said. "It's the first time women come out of their homes to vote."

Voting is isolated throughout Pakistan, even with separate polling stations between men and women, including separate election officials.

after the end of the poll, the results should be known early Thursday, according to election officials.

International and national election observers will monitor the vote. The European Union Election Observation Mission has 120 observers in the polling stations of the main centers of Pakistan, with the exception of Baluchistan.

According to Pakistani law, separate seats are reserved for women and non-Muslim minorities, which account for 4% of the total. The Zarar Khan journalist in Islamabad, Abdul Sattar in Quetta in Baluchistan, Zaheer Babar in Lahore Adil Jawad in Karachi, Pakistan and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan contributed to this report.