KARACHI: The recent back-to-back bomb attacks on election meetings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have prompted the Awami National Party (ANP) to cancel its rally in Karachi while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has demanded adequate security for its chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

“We had planned a massive rally for July 22 at Valika Road near SITE where Asfandyar Wali was scheduled to speak along with other senior leaders of the party, but the suicide attack on Haroon Bilour in Peshawar, which took his life, forced us to cancel the event and Mr Wali’s trip to Karachi,” said ANP Sindh spokesman Abdul Malik.

He added that his party had decided to shelve all such plans which gave too much public exposure to its candidates and workers.

The spokesman, however, said activities at lower level, such as door-to-door campaigns and corner meetings, with less number of people would continue.

“We have 31 candidates in the run for the Sindh Assembly and 11 for the National Assembly from Karachi while one candidate is contesting for a provincial assembly seat from Hyderabad.

“The fresh strategy has been devised for each and every constituency and conveyed to all candidates. We are not quitting and want to contest but we cannot put the lives of our leaders and workers at risk,” said Mr Malik.

The death of Haroon Bilour was followed by a deadly suicide attack on Balochistan Awami Party’s Balochistan Assembly candidate Nawab Siraj Raisani in Mastung. The attack left nearly 150 people martyred and over 200 injured.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) has recently informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that there existed serious threats to political leaders’ and electoral candidates’ lives.

The current developments have forced the PPP to demand foolproof security for its chairman.

“The [security] situation is not very ideal. We are aware of the fact,” said PPP Karachi president Saeed Ghani.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2018