Blast near ANP office in Karachi kills three

At least three people were killed and more than 30 injured in an explosion near an Awami National Party (ANP) office in the Mominabad area, Orangi Town of Karachi on Friday, reported Express News. The explosion, targeting a corner meeting of the party, was heard in several areas of the city including North Nazimabad, Gurumandir and Soldier Bazaar. DIG West Zafar Bukhari said that the blast targeted ANP candidate Bashir Jan, but he remained safe in the incident. An emergency was declared in the Abbasi Shaheed hospital, and the police cordoned off the site of the blast. The caretaker chief minister of Sindh condemned the attack and ordered the IG Sindh to submit a report of the incident. On Thursday, a blast had targeted Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s election office in the North Nazimabad area of the city, claiming five lives. The party had called for a day of mourning across the city on Friday (today). The Taliban have directly threatened the three main parties in the outgoing government, the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Awami National Party and the MQM, which are often described as secular. ANP, one of the largest political forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is being targeted with increased frequency. The party has come under attack in K-P at least seven times over the past few weeks.