Blasts target Pak secular party office, rally; 5 killed
Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was observing a day of mourning yesterday after three people were killed and over 45 injured in two back-to-back blasts near its party office in the port city of Karachi last night.
The first blast struck near MQM Unit 153 office in the city's Azizabad area, also home to the party's headquarters, while the second one tore through the same area about 30 minutes later.
The second bomb proved deadlier as it went off when the rescuers, law enforcers, volunteers, and media persons were thronging the blast site.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded at an election rally in southwest Pakistan yesterday killing two people, officials said as violence continued ahead of historic polls on Saturday.
The remote controlled bomb went off when Sarfraz Dombki, an independent candidate for a provincial assembly seat, was leading a rally in Sibi, 160 kilometres southeast of Baluchistan province's capital Quetta, senior administration official Aziz Jamali told AFP.
Pakistan will elect its new government for the next five years in polls on May 11. The election of the national and regional assemblies will mark the first time a civilian government has completed a full term and handed over to another, in a country that has been ruled by the military for half its existence.
Campaigning has been marred by Taliban threats and attacks, which have killed 66 people since April 11, according to an AFP tally.
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