Gunmen kill election candidate, three others in Pakistan
Iran Press TV
Tue Apr 30, 2013 3:3PM GMT
Gunmen in Pakistan's Balochistan Province have shot and killed a candidate running in the country’s upcoming elections and three of his bodyguards, police say.
According to a statement released by Ghulam Farooq, a police official, on Tuesday, the attack took place in Jhal Magsi district located some 350 kilometers (220 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of the province, after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying an independent candidate identified as Fateh Muhammad Magsi.
All the victims died at the scene, the statement added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police officials say the prime suspects are Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants or local armed ethnic groups, who have carried out similar attacks in the past.
Dozens of people have been killed in bomb attacks over the past few weeks ahead of Pakistan’s general elections of May 11.
Pakistan will hold its National Assembly elections on May 11. The National Assembly has a total of 342 members, of which 272 are elected by popular vote. The last National Assembly elections were held in February 2008.
Pakistan will also hold elections for 577 seats of the Provincial Assemblies on the same day.
Pakistani media say over 35,000 people have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror.
MAM/JR
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