Blast near MMA candidate Akram Durrani's convoy kills four
Akram Khan Durrani survived the attack.
BANNU (Dunya News / AFP) – At least four people were killed and 35 others injured when a bomb targeted the convoy of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) candidate Akram Durrani near the northwestern town of Bannu.
“The bomb was planted in a motorcycle,” regional police officer Kareem Khan told AFP. Other local authorities confirmed the attack.
Akram Durrani, the MMA candidate from NA-35, was heading towards Bannu to participate in a public rally. He remained unhurt in the incident.
PHOTO: Former Chief Minister and MMA candidate from NA-35 candidate Akram Durrani
The MMA is a coalition of religious parties based in Pakistan’s northwest. Durrani is running against cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) is one of the front-runners in the July 25 vote.
“Strongly condemn the terrorist attack on Akram Durrani and his convoy,” Imran Khan tweeted after the attack.
“There seems to be a conspiracy to sabotage the 25 July elections but the people of Pakistan will not allow any design intended to target these historic elections to succeed,” he continued.
The blast comes days after a bomb claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban targeted a rally by the Awami National Party (ANP) in the city of Peshawar on Tuesday. Hospital officials said Friday that the toll in that attack had risen to 22.
Local ANP leader Haroon Bilour was among those killed. Thousands flocked to his funeral the next day.
Security situation in Pakistan has dramatically improved in recent years, with the military cracking down on militancy that has cost tens of thousands of lives in the past decade. But analysts have long warned that the country has not tackled the root causes of extremism.
