A suicide bomber injured a candidate from the party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and killed his driver in an attack in northwest Pakistan Sunday, police said, three days before the country’s general election. Five others were also injured in the blast in the city of Dera Ismail Khan and have been rushed to the hospital, local police official Kamal Shah said.
It was the latest violence ahead of Wednesday’s elections when Pakistanis are to elect the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, and four provincial assemblies.
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According to police officer Zahoor Afridi, the candidate Ikramullah Gandapur from opposition leader Imran Khan’s party was returning home from a campaign event when the bomber struck in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, wounding him. He died a short while later in a military hospital, Afridi said. Along with his driver who was also killed, three other people, including two policemen, were wounded.
Analysts have long warned that Pakistan is not tackling the root causes of extremism and that terrorists retain the ability to carry out spectacular attacks. Imran Khan is hoping to achieve a years-long dream of becoming prime minister, with recent polls showing his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party climbing nationally ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
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