Feb 18 2008
Pak election over; violence all around country!
Pakistan’s crucial general election for national and state assembly has been over in Pakistan on Monday that is expected to settle the fate of President Pervez Musharraf. In the meantime, ten people died during violence all around the country. The most obvious sign of that violence was the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in December.
About 81 million people are eligible to vote in the elections, but many may be put off by concerns of violence in the country, a keystone in the U.S. battle against Islamic extremists.
The government had set up 81,000 troops and nearly 400,000 policemen who were on high alert for the polling, which began at 8 am (8.30 am IST) and ended at 5 pm (5.30 pm IST).
Polling has been put off in northwestern Parachinar region in Kurram tribal agency where 49 people were killed in a suicide attack on the last day of polling on Saturday. While a blast in a ballot house was reported in Sewat valley on Afganistaan border causing no injuries, authorities said, while one person was killed elsewhere as rival political parties exchanged gunfire.
Voters of Pakistan Muslim League were shot dead in Lahore. It was reported that 3 more people killed in similar violence.
Security forces reported three other explosions — one near a polling place in Quetta, in western Pakistan; another at a college being used as a polling station in the Federally Administered Tribal Area; and a third that was not near a voting venue.
Urban centre did witness some brisk polling with a turnout of about 30 per cent in cities like Islamabad and Lahore by 10 AM.
Clashes between political workers, forcible stamping of ballots at a handful of polling stations in Sindh and Punjab provinces was also reported.
PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif blamed Musharraf’s main ally PML (Q) for the killing of its candidate Asif Ashraf. In this accident, his driver and personal assistant were also killed. Shooting in a polling office of PML-N killed a man in another case in Lahore.
