Pakistan 2018 Elections: Voting Continues as Blast Leaves 28 Killed

Local Editor

At least 28 people were killed and 35 wounded in a suicide attack on a polling station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said, as millions voted in a nationwide election Wednesday.

"[The bomber] was trying to enter the polling station. When police tried to stop him he blew himself up," a local administration official in Quetta, Hashim Ghilzai, said. The incident and toll were confirmed by a second senior local official.

The attack was not immediately claimed by any group.

Balochistan, Pakistan's poorest and most restive province, suffers from Islamist and separatist insurgencies.

It was hit by several bombings during the brief but acrimonious election campaign - including a devastating blast claimed by Daesh [Arabic Acronym for the terrorist “ISIS”/ “ISIL”group] which killed 153 people this month, and was Pakistan's deadliest ever suicide attack.

An earlier attack in the province on Wednesday left one policeman dead and three wounded when a hand grenade was thrown at a polling station in the village of Koshk, in Khuzdar district.

The military has stationed over 370,000 personnel across Pakistan to ensure security for the election, bolstered by an additional 450,000 police.

A tight race has been underway between the party of jailed-ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz [PML-N], and that of former star cricketer Imran Khan — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI].

The latest polls suggest that the former cricket hero is leading the race to become Pakistan's next prime minister.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team