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PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A candidate of a Taliban-opposed political party was killed in a suicide bombing on Tuesday night as he was campaigning in northwestern Pakistan a few weeks before the country do not go to the polls.
were killed and dozens were injured, several of them critically, said police and hospital officials. The death toll was expected to increase, according to the authorities
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban, who frequently attacked secular politicians, were immediately suspected.
The attack raised concerns about the security of current candidates in the July 25 general election and immediately cast a veil over Pakistan. It was the first attack of this kind of this year's campaign
The candidate who was killed, Haroon Bilour, belonged to a prominent political family from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, to the north West
. Bilour, who ran for a seat at the provincial assembly, was at a campaign party late Tuesday night when the suicide bomber blew up his explosive jacket, police officials said
. Bilour's father, Bashir Ahmad Bilour, prominent politician and former provincial minister, was killed in a suicide bombing by the Taliban a few months before the last general election, in 2013, not far from the explosion of Tuesday. Haroon Bilour's son was injured in the last attack.
The Bil'ors belonged to the Awami national party, whose opposition to the Taliban has made it a repeat target of militants. Several leaders of the ANP and at least 700 of its workers have been killed in the last decade.
The intensity of the attacks greatly affected the party's ability to openly campaign and mobilize supporters in the last general election. , said party officials. With the security situation significantly improved in the country in the last two years, however, the members of the A.N.P. had hoped to be able to campaign safely.
Haroon Bilour, the provincial secretary of information for his political party, has expressed such hopes in recent interviews with local media. Mr. Bilour had survived at least two assassination attempts.
But Tuesday night, a suicide bomber managed to mingle with supporters of Mr. Bilour when he arrived at a campaign demonstration in Peshawar. "The kamikaze was sitting and waiting for the arrival of Haroon," said Taj Muhamamd Wazir, an A.N.P.
Imran Khan, leader of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf, condemned the attack and called on the state to provide security for the candidates.
"Yet another ANP The leader sacrificed his life for peace and democracy," said Sardar Hussain Babak, the provincial secretary general of the Awami National Party, during a phone interview. "We have a long list of martyrs, and we will continue to fight against the forces of extremism and militancy."
Babak, who also runs for office, said party leaders were receiving almost daily threats from the Taliban.
"But the federal and provincial governments have failed to secure us," he said. "We had our own security arrangements."
Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, Pakistan. Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud contributing reports from Islamabad.
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