Pakistan goes to the polls in an environment marked by violence and pessimism among the population

“I was sitting near the roundabout when A sudden explosion occurred and there was a large ball of dust. I couldn't see anything,” says Muhammad Ibrahim, who witnessed the bomb explosion outside the offices of two candidates in southwestern Pakistan.

Members of his family died in the explosion. In total, authorities have reported At least 28 people died due to the explosion of the devices, in addition to 50 injured.

The jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, in which “They blew up a motorcycle “loaded with explosives”against an electoral group that supported one of the infidel candidates,” in reference to an independent candidate from Phishin, in the province of Balochistan.

The first attack, in Phishin, killed 16 people. The district is located about 50 kilometers from the city of Quetta, capital of Balochistan, and 100 kilometers from the border with Afghanistan. The second device exploded minutes later and killed 12 people. near the office of a candidate of the Islamist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F), in the town of Killa Saifullah.

The JUI-F, a major radical Islamist party that has close ties to Afghanistan's Taliban, has been attacked by the Islamic State group and other militias in recent years.

Pakistan Government Response

“The objective of today's explosions was to sabotage the elections“said Jan Achakzai, information minister of Balochistan, where the deadly attacks occurred.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi condemned blasts in Pashin and Killa Saifullahthrough a publication on his social networks, and accompanied it with a prayer for the fatal victims and their families.

The attacks occurred despite the strong military and police contingent that has been deployed in Pakistan, within the framework of the general elections. The Ministry of the Interior reported that a control room was created to monitor the general situation of the country's security during the voting this Thursday, February 8.

Uncontrollable violence in the middle of the campaign

The attacks take place a day before Pakistan goes to the polls to elect the 266 members of the National Assembly (Parliament), in addition to the representatives of the regional legislative assemblies of its four provinces, a process to which more than 128 million people. The Assembly is responsible for electing the president and prime minister in Pakistan.

The electoral campaign has been marked by terrorist attacks and attacks against candidates and staff of the Electoral Commission. Mainly in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunjuá, which share a border with Iran and Afghanistan, which have a large presence of armed insurgent movements.

In the last year, there wasan average of 54 attacks per month, according to the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studiesa think tank based in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. This “staggering” increase in attacks, The entity said, it represents the largest number of attacks since 2015, when the Army launched a massive repression against several armed groups.

The Electoral Commission declared more than half of the 90,582 voting centers as at risk of violence or attacks. Which represents an increase of 44% compared to the 2018 elections.

According to the authorities, the increase in violence is associated with the rise to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, in mid-2021. According to the Pakistani Government, this fact led to a resurgence of the Pakistani fundamentalist group twinned with them: the Tehreek- e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Last July, at least 54 people were killed in a suicide attack. An Afghan branch of Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack.

Meanwhile, on February 1, Rehan Zeb Khan, a candidate affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of the Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, recently convicted of corruption and for having made public secret information. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the attack.

Other insurgent groups, such as Pakistani Taliban and Balochistan separatist groups, They oppose the Government and have carried out several attacks in recent months. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban movement announced that they are responsible for an attack that occurred on Monday, February 5, which left 10 people dead at a police station in northwest Pakistan. The movement, they explained, is directed at police and security officials, not against candidates.

In Balochistan province, the main insurgent group is the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which claimed responsibility for the latest attacks on political party headquarters. His spokesman said that mines have been installed on all roads and asked the population to refrain from going out.

Pessimism of the population

In addition to the increase in violence and attacks, Pakistan faces an economic crisis with inflation exceeding 30%, with difficulties in exports and low job creation, as well as tense relations with its neighbors. (Pakistan borders Afghanistan, China, Iran and India).

Pakistan needs to repay $77.5 billion of foreign debt over the next three years, mainly to Chinese financial institutions and Saudi Arabia. The first of them will expire next June and the new government will need to negotiate refinancing with the creditor.

Young people view the future of their country with pessimism. They also do not believe that there is a change in the current situation because, They claim, the political class has been characterized by maintaining long-standing family leadership in power.

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Added to this is that the most popular leader in these elections is the former prime minister Imran Khan, convicted on various charges. Along with him, the three-time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardarithey lead polls and represent opposing positions.

Imran was left without options due to his legal situation, while Sharif, despite never finishing a term in office because he was expelled, is the favorite. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister, is the third generation of a powerful political dynasty in Pakistan.

There are almost 18,000 candidates for the 266 directly elected seats in the national Parliament and the 749 of the four provincial assemblies. The Assembly is responsible for electing the president and prime minister in Pakistan.

With Reuters, AFP, EFE and local media.