Explosion kills at least 10 in Karachi

An explosion has killed at least 10 people and injured many others near a polling station in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi as voting is underway for general elections in the country.

The powerful blast went off near Awami National Party(ANP) election office at Dawood Chowrangi, Quaidabad area of Karachi city on Saturday after polling stations officially opened at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) for the one-day elections.

Many shops were also completely destroyed in the arrack.

Officials said the blast targeted ANP leader and candidate, however he remained safe.

Just after the blast, security forces cordoned off the area and shifted the injured people, including children, to hospitals.

Meanwhile reports said, as the historic voting got underway two separate bomb attacks also hit Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar and southwestern city of Quetta on the day.

A bomb attack targeting female voters in Peshawar wounded eight people.

“The bomb was planted on a motorcycle. Several people including police have been injured. The motorcycle was parked outside a women’s polling station,” a senior police officer said.

ANP is one of three secular liberal parties that have been targeted by Taliban militants during the run-up to the election.

Bombings and shootings killed more than 130 people ahead of Saturday’s historic vote in what many observers have called Pakistan’s most deadly election.

On Friday, an independent candidate, who had been running for a seat in the assembly of Pakistan’s Sindh Province, was shot dead in Karachi.

Shakil Ahmed and two supporters were killed on Friday night in the Landhi area, police said.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group previously announced that they would target the election rallies of three political parties, the Awami National Party the MQM, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

The voters will elect 272 legislators to the 342-member National Assembly and legislators to four provincial assemblies.