National Party convoy comes under attack in Balochistan's Kech

KECH: With electioneering taking pace across the country as February 8 polls draw near, a convoy of the National Party (NP) came under attack on Sunday in Kech district’s Dasht Town.

The attack comes in the backdrop of security concerns raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and several other independent lawmakers, with the latter moving resolutions in the Senate seeking poll delay.

Previous general election campaigns have witnessed spasms of violence, with scores of candidates and voters targeted by bombings and gun attacks.

Commenting on the incident, Dasht Assistant Commissioner (AC) Abdul Hameed confirmed that unidentified men managed to escape after firing on the convoy.

As per the assistant commissioner, the firing damaged a vehicle's windscreen; however, the party leaders remained unhurt.

In a statement, NP spokesperson Jan Buledi said the party’s candidate for the PB-27 Lala Abdul Rasheed, and Senator Kohda Akram Dashti were present inside the vehicle that came under attack.

"They [the leaders] had gone to Dasht Kadan for electioneering [purposes]. Their vehicle came under fire, however, they remained safe as the vehicle was bulletproof" the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, NP's Central President Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, in his statement, condemned the attack on party leaders and said the incident was aimed at sabotaging elections.

"This is an attempt to create a law and order situation. The government should take steps to ensure the safety of politicians and party workers," he added.

This isn't the first time an election hopeful was attacked or a political party's event was targeted, as similar incidents have taken place in recent days as Pakistan moves towards general elections.

Earlier this month, Shah Khalid, a local leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was shot dead by unidentified men in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Swabi district.

Another independent election candidate was killed in North Waziristan in the same month. The independent candidate, identified as Kaleemullah Khan, was eyeing to contest polls for the KP assembly's PK-104.

In a separate incident on the same day, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) candidate for NA-258 Aslam Buledi sustained injuries during a firing incident in Turbat City.

Former member of the national assembly and National Democratic Movement (NDM) leader Mohsin Dawar's convoy had also come under a gun attack by terrorists in the Tappi village this month.

The attacks come as the country has witnessed a significant surge in terrorist attacks with the last year's terror-related casualties reaching a six-year high with more than 1,500 civilians, security forces, and militants killed, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).