Bombings in Pakistan ahead of elections kill 170, thwarting hopes of a peaceful vote

Pakistan is bracing for the general elections on July 25 after a week of bombings targeting political rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces have spread fears of more violence and a thorny power transition.

The attacks have claimed more than 170 lives, including prominent candidates Haroon Bilour and Siraj Raisani, in a campaign that had been thus far peaceful. One attack alone, on July 13 at a rally of the Balochistan Awami Party, killed 129 people and injured dozens. This was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since Taliban shooters killed 141 in an army-run school in Peshawar, in December 2014.

The 208-million strong nation will elect 342 seats at the National Assembly, with the conservative Pakistan Muslim League hoping to secure a majority for a second term. The party was shaken in 2017 after its founder and then Prime Minister was convicted of buying apartments in London by illegally siphoning money from Pakistan, a scandal revealed by the Panama Papers investigation.

The Muslim League is also bound to face fierce competition from the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party.

The recent attacks triggered memories of the 2013 elections, when suicide bombings frequently targeted political rallies, killing more than 200 people, 64 on election day itself. The Pakistani Taliban, who claimed most of the attacks, targeted primarily secular political parties, such as the Pakistan People’s Party, the Awami National Party, and the Mohajir Muttahida Quami Movement. The threats of violence prompted the three parties to curtail their public campaign gatherings and resorted to campaigning via social media.

Nevertheless, the 2013 elections resulted in a smooth power transition between the Pakistan People’s Party and Nawaz’ Pakistan Muslim League. Prior to 2008, no democratic government had completed its five years in office in Pakistan.

Militant violence has also declined in recent years after a military offensive in the North-West, where groups such as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, al-Qaeda, and the ISIL-Khorasan operate. However, some still manage to launch attacks with help from across the border in Afghanistan.