Daily Times

An election candidate and his driver were killed by a suicide bomber in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa on Sunday, police said, three days before the general elections.

Ikramullah Gandapur, a member of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was contesting polls from PK-99 constituency.

He succumbed to his injuries at Combined Military Hospital after a suicide bomber blew himself up near his Land Cruiser, Dera Ismail Khan police chief said, adding that at least eight to 10 kilogrammes of explosive material were used in the suicide attack on Gandapur, which took place in the Kulachi area of the district.

ECP annoyed over KP interim govt’s failure to ensure adequate security of contestants despite reports of terrorist threats

Faraz Mughul, Gandapur’s assistant, confirmed the casualties.

Police said that the candidate was targeted near his residence while he was heading to a political convention.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack in a message sent to the media.

Gandapur had till recently served as the provincial agricultural minister in the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet. He was elected through by-election on PK-67, Dera Ismail Khan, seat after it was vacated following the death of his brother, former law minister Israrulah Gandapur, also in a suicide attack.

PTI chief Imran Khan condemned the ‘cowardly terrorist attack’, in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

“Our hearts weep for him and his family and we pray for both,” the PTI said in a statement.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed his condolences through the army’s public relations directorate.

Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan expressed annoyance over inappropriate security arrangements for candidates despite reports of threats to them.

In a statement, he strongly condemned the suicide attack on Gandapur and sought report from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister, inspector general police and chief secretary. The CEC directed that foolproof security should be provided to all the candidates contesting the general elections without any discrimination and an environment of peace must be ensured for holding free, fair and transparent elections.

The bombing is the latest in a number of attacks targeting politicians campaigning ahead of the general elections scheduled for July 25.

A suicide blast in Balochistan on July 13 had killed 149 people – one of Pakistan’s worst-ever terror attacks – underscoring continuing security challenges in the country following years of dramatic improvements.

Published in Daily Times, July 23^rd 2018.