MIRAMSHAH: A bomb blast has destroyed an election office in an area near the Afghan border, officials said on Saturday.

No deaths were reported following the explosion which took place late on Friday at Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region.

The attack came hours after a car bomb exploded outside the election office of a candidate for Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi, killing 11 people.

“A time device, which was planted near the office of Aqal Khan, an independent candidate contesting the May 11 polls, went off but did not cause any loss of life because it was late in the night,” a security official said.

The blast however destroyed Mr Khan’s election office and a few adjacent shops.

Another official, who confirmed the bombing, said nobody had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban have directly threatened the three main parties in the outgoing government, the PPP, ANP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which are often described as secular.

As a result of the threats, there have been few large-scale political rallies leading to a lacklustre campaign for the elections.—AFP