The assassination of Haroon Bilour along with 20 of the party's workers in a suicide attack late Tuesday night is a continuation of the decade-long bloody episode for the ANP.

Why is the party being targeted?

A Dawn article today cites the director of the Institute of Conflict Studies at the University of Peshawar, Dr Hussain Shaheed Soherwardi:

ANP [is] a secular party that always opposed religious extremism and terrorism.

Putting it in the context of the upcoming elections, the report quotes analyst Ilyas Khan:

Operating in peaceful atmosphere will strengthen political parties and parliament, which will automatically weaken other forces. This is why the left wing, secular parties are targeted in such a situation.

Read the rest here.