Pakistani politician among 13 killed at ANP election rally

A SENIOR Pakistan politician was among at least 13 people killed in a suicide blast at an election rally in Peshawar last night.

Haroon Bilour, an Awami National Party (ANP) candidate, was about to address supporters when he was fatally wounded in the attack, which injured at least 54 others.

The ANP, which campaigns against the Taliban, has been a regular target of militants operating in Pakistan’s northwest. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, ANP senior leader, said the attack was intended to derail democracy and delay the elections scheduled for July 25.

Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) leader, tweeted: “All political parties and their candidates must be provided proper security during their election campaigns by the State.”

The news came after Pakistan’s military said yesterday that it would deploy more than 370,000 troops to guard the general election later this month. Campaigning has so far been dominated by allegations the military has run a multi-pronged campaign to undermine the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) party of Nawaz Sharif, the ousted former prime minister, and muzzled the media. Sharif, who last week was sentenced to 10 years for corruption offences, says the army is trying tip the balance in favour of Mr Khan’s PTI party.

Major General Asif Ghafoor said the military would ensure the elections were free, fair and transparent. He said: “We don’t have a political party. We don’t have a loyalty.”