Pakistan: Eight blasts rattle three provinces in less than 24 hours

At least eight separate blasts rocked three different provinces of Pakistan in the last 24 hours, raising fears for deteriorating law and order as the historic May 11 polls draw nearer. The attacks since Tuesday evening in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan have now claimed 11 lives and have left up to 75 wounded. The latest attack on Wednesday targeted a police station on the outskirts of Quetta, the second blast in the provincial capital since this morning and the sixth since yesterday. The blast raised the total death toll since yesterday in Quetta alone to six, with up to 60 injured. At least 15 have been injured since this morning. According to police, unknown attackers on motorcycles lobbed a hand-held bomb on the Kechi Baig police station in Quetta Sariab area around midday. Two policemen were injured in the explosion, while the attackers managed to escape unhurt, police said. The blast also damaged a police vehicle and the wall of the police station. Earlier this morning, 13 people including two children were injured in a blast outside a private hospital in Gailani road area of the city. Police said the bomb was planted inside a cycle parked outside the hospital. On Tuesday, four explosions left six people dead and up to 45 injured in the city. Banned extremist outfit, the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), had claimed responsibility of Tuesday’s attacks. Late Tuesday, militants also attacked an election camp of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi. The blast left at least five people dead and 15 others injured. A strike was being observed in the country’s commercial capital on Wednesday at the call of the MQM in protest of the killings. Earlier Wednesday, an explosion near the house of a local Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader injured three people in Peshawar’s Sarki Gate area. Meanwhile, two remotely detonated roadside bombs exploded in Dera Ismail Khan this morning when the convoy of election candidate from PK-68 constituency Israrullah Khan Gandapur was passing through the area. No casualties were reported. Pakistan goes to the polls on May 11 for an election that will mark the first time a civilian government has handed over power at the ballot box after completing a full term in office.