A suicide bomber killed 128 people at an election rally in southwestern Pakistan in the second election-related attack on Friday, officials said, amid growing tensions over ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return ahead of the July 25 vote.

The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over three years and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

It came as Pakistan's caretaker government launched a crackdown on political gatherings. Sharif, who was ousted by the Supreme Court last year and convicted in absentia of corruption a week ago, arrived in the country to rally his party ahead of the general elections.

Baluchistan Home Minister Agha Omer Bangulzai told Reuters that the death toll in the attack had risen to 128 people, with over 150 wounded.

Senior police official Qaim Lashari had earlier said that more than 1000 people were in attendance at the rally in the town of Mastung in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan.

Islamist militants linked to the Taliban, al-Qaida and Islamic State have been operating in the province, which borders Iran as well as Afghanistan. It also has an indigenous ethnic Baluch insurgency fighting the central government.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's AMAQ news agency said. The group provided no further detail or evidence for its claim.

In February 2017, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a shrine in southern Pakistan, killing 83 people and wounding over 150.

Among those killed in Friday's attack was Baluchistan provincial assembly candidate Siraj Raisani, whose brother Nawab Aslam Raisani had served as the provincial chief minister from 2008 to 2013.

"My brother Siraj Raisani has been martyred," said Haji Lashkari Raisani, another brother who is also contesting a national assembly seat from Baluchistan.

Raisani is the second electoral candidate to be killed in pre-election violence this week.

Police had earlier said that the attack targeted Raisani's convoy but later changed their statement as video footage of a large tent showing damage from the blast was circulated.

Earlier in the day, a bomb blast killed four people in the northern town of Bannu when it struck the campaign convoy of Akram Khan Durrani, an ally of Sharif's party from the religious Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party (MMA).

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a rally by an anti-Taliban political party in the northern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killing 20 people including Haroon Bilour who was hoping to win a provincial assembly seat in July.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bilour was part of the predominantly secular, ethnic Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party, which has long competed with Islamist parties for votes in Pakistan’s volatile Pashtun lands, along the border with Afghanistan.

His father, senior ANP leader Bashir Bilour, was killed in a suicide bombing in late 2012, in the run-up to Pakistan’s last election.</s>A suicide bomber killed 128 people at an election rally in southwestern Pakistan in the second election-related attack on Friday, officials said, amid growing tensions over ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return ahead of the July 25 vote.

The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over three years and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

It came as Pakistan's caretaker government launched a crackdown on political gatherings. Sharif, who was ousted by the Supreme Court last year and convicted in absentia of corruption a week ago, arrived in the country to rally his party ahead of the general elections.

Baluchistan Home Minister Agha Omer Bangulzai told Reuters that the death toll in the attack had risen to 128 people, with over 150 wounded.

Senior police official Qaim Lashari had earlier said that more than 1000 people were in attendance at the rally in the town of Mastung in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan.

Islamist militants linked to the Taliban, al Qaeda and Islamic State have been operating in the province, which borders Iran as well as Afghanistan. It also has an indigenous ethnic Baluch insurgency fighting the central government.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's AMAQ news agency said. The group provided no further detail or evidence for its claim.

In February 2017, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a shrine in southern Pakistan, killing 83 people and wounding over 150.

Among those killed in Friday's attack was Baluchistan provincial assembly candidate Siraj Raisani, whose brother Nawab Aslam Raisani had served as the provincial chief minister from 2008 to 2013.

"My brother Siraj Raisani has been martyred," said Haji Lashkari Raisani, another brother who is also contesting a national assembly seat from Baluchistan.

Raisani is the second electoral candidate to be killed in pre-election violence this week.

Police had earlier said that the attack targeted Raisani's convoy but later changed their statement as video footage of a large tent showing damage from the blast was circulated.

Earlier in the day, a bomb blast killed four people in the northern town of Bannu when it struck the campaign convoy of Akram Khan Durrani, an ally of Sharif's party from the religious Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party (MMA).

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a rally by an anti-Taliban political party in the northern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killing 20 people including Haroon Bilour who was hoping to win a provincial assembly seat in July.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bilour was part of the predominantly secular, ethnic Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party, which has long competed with Islamist parties for votes in Pakistan’s volatile Pashtun lands, along the border with Afghanistan.

His father, senior ANP leader Bashir Bilour, was killed in a suicide bombing in late 2012, in the run-up to Pakistan’s last election.</s>Some 85 people have died and more than 30 have been injured after a suicide bombing at an election rally near Quetta, Pakistan. Hours earlier a bomb went off at another election rally in the country’s northwest, killing four.

More than 1,000 people were attending the rally when it was targeted, according to local police. Friday’s bombing is the deadliest in Pakistan since two bomb blasts ripped apart a marketplace in Parachinar last June, killing almost 100 people.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS or ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the terror group’s AMAQ news agency. IS militants, as well as Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters have been active in the region, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The blast killed Siraj Raisani, who was running for a seat with the newly-formed Balochistan Awami Party. Raisani died while on the way to a nearby hospital, according to the provincial home minister.

The blast came just hours after a bomb went off at a separate election rally in the northwestern town of Bannu. Four people were killed and 20 more injured as a bomb exploded after candidate Akram Khan Durrani finished making a speech. Durrani is running for Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a political alliance of hardline Islamic groups.

Durrani’s rival, former moderate lawmaker Imran Khan, condemned Friday’s bombing as a conspiracy to sabotage the July 25 vote.

In another suicide attack earlier this week, 23 people were killed at a campaign event organized by the Awami National Party in Peshawar. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which claimed the life of politician Haroon Bilour.

Tensions have been on the rise in Pakistan as polling day draws nearer. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also returning to the country from the UK to face a 10-year jail sentence for corruption. Police have arrested scores of Sharif supporters, who turned out in droves to welcome their former leader at Lahore airport.

Sharif has claimed that his arrest was motivated by “blind revenge” from political rivals. Sharif has been barred from participating in politics and has voiced concern about the vote, asking: “What credibility is now left of the elections? Who will believe the results?”

Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League, is topping most opinion polls. Sharif has accused his main rival, Khan, of using the military to coerce voters into voting for his party, the Pakistan Movement for Justice. Sharif has been a vocal critic of the military, which he claims runs a “state above a state” in Pakistan.

Pre-election violence is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan. Some 150 people were killed in the six weeks leading up to the last general election in 2013 – an election which saw Sharif become prime minister.</s>The death toll following a blast at an election rally in southwestern Pakistan has risen to 128 people, officials have said.

Balochistan province's home minister said the death toll in the town of Mastung "has risen to 128".

A senior provincial government official also confirmed the figure, adding that 150 others were injured in the attack.

The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over a year and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

It comes amid growing tension over ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return ahead of the 25 July vote.

Mr Sharif, who faces ten years in prison for corruption, was arrested on his return to the country today.

It came as Pakistan's caretaker government launched a crackdown on political gatherings with Mr Sharif, who was ousted by the Supreme Court last year and convicted in absentia a week ago.

A senior police official had earlier said that more than 1,000 people were in attendance at the rally.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's AMAQ news agency said. The group provided no further detail or evidence for its claim.

Islamist militants linked to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Islamic State have been operating in the province, which borders Iran as well as Afghanistan.

It also has an indigenous ethnic Baluch insurgency fighting the central government.

Among those killed was Baluchistan provincial assembly candidate Siraj Raisani, whose brother Nawab Aslam Raisani had served as the provincial chief minister from 2008 to 2013.

Mr Raisani is the second electoral candidate to be killed in pre-election violence this week.

Police had earlier said that the attack targeted Mr Raisani's convoy but later changed their statement as video footage of a large tent showing damage from the blast was circulated.

Earlier in the day, a bomb blast killed four people in the northern town of Bannu when it struck the campaign convoy of Akram Khan Durrani, an ally of Mr Sharif's party from the religious Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party (MMA).

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a rally by an anti-Taliban political party in the northern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing 20 people.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>When the Minister for Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, fumbled on the podium by mixing up the name of his party’s gubernatorial candidate, Kayode Fayemi, with that of the outgoing governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, it just occurred to me that the chasm of numbing shenanigans that has pervaded our politics for many years is not about to end anytime soon. Instead, it is becoming fashionable among those we tag political elites here to shamelessly clown around with issues that many noteworthy political figures elsewhere had voluntarily stepped down without much ado.

Oftentimes, such resignations may be due to what we have come to accept here as slight indiscretions or ideological differences. It may be true that the general principle and first rule of politics is never to resign. Elsewhere, people have serially ignored this rule either on moral grounds or when they are of the convictions that it would deepen democracy and strengthen the institutions of governance. Here, the opposite is the case. In the United Kingdom, for example, reports say many politicians “have been forced to quit in scandals involving sex, theft, drugs, double-crossing, call girls and even attempted murder.” Add that to the fact some of the resignations came out of the principled stands of these individuals against certain policies and you would understand why, in most of these developed countries, democracy is not a knife and dagger engagements.

Some years back in Canada, the story was told of a high-ranking government official who had to throw in the towel for allegedly using government money to pay for a cup of tea in a café. It is that serious. In Nigeria, the narrative is different. It is no news that the local champions operating in our political space can, if they desire, walk away with murder. We have so bastardised politics that those fleecing our collective patrimony are worshipped as heroes in a failed system. That is why, for example, someone like Ngige may not read much meaning to the heresy he committed last Tuesday, campaigning for the opposing candidate at a political rally organised for his party’s candidate. Yet, I concur we would be asking for too much if we had demanded for his resignation as a Minister of the Federal Republic. After all, is it not in this same government that a serving female minister swore not to back President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term bid, threatening to resign her appointment as her loyalty for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was unshaken? Months after Buhari declared his intention to re-contest for that post, has that minister resigned either on principle; clash of interest or even on moral ground? So, why should we berate Ngige for having his share in this farcical politics where the blind leads the lame and deaf?

Nothing demonstrates the ineffectualness of our politics to break away from the clowning around than Monday’s reported amalgamation of 39 political parties with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party with the aim of wresting power from Buhari and his All Progressives Congress in the 2019 general elections.

The first question that agitates one’s mind is: where on earth did these 39 mushroom parties spring from such that they now have the capacity to be partners in an orchestrated coup by the PDP to remove an incumbent government? When you sift through the names of the so-called titans in that hall that day, what you get is the same band of Buhari foes—those who couldn’t make any difference in the lives of the citizens when given the opportunities in the past. And when you realiSe that the sole agenda was to get Buhari off the presidential seat, you begin to get a clear understanding of the huge web of deceit that informed that mob action. It is, simply put, a personal battle by disgruntled elements riled by the fact that it is extremely difficult to lay hands on the national till as it was the practice in the immediate past.

Let’s take a peep into the Memorandum of Understanding read by no less a person than good old Chief Tom Ikimi of the “Obasenjo” fame. The signatories, among other things, resolved to field a joint presidential candidate which, I assume, would necessarily have to emerge from the PDP. They would also pick common candidates for governorship, National Assembly, state assemblies and even the Federal Capital Territory. They would, at the same time, promote core values for the restructuring of the country, sharing of political offices among persons and groups across the six geo-political zones while promising to install a unity government with a joint manifesto that will usher in a structured economic and fiscal federalism. Gibberish!

You ask: what is the difference between this new MoU and the one the estranged members of the new Peoples Democratic Party signed with the APC before they became the Reformed APC and eventually return to their original heritage, the PDP? The answer is muted in the things that were left unsaid at Monday’s event. As someone puts it, the devil is in the details. Buhari may not have performed exceptionally well in that office but those who laid the booby traps that led to his incompetence shouldn’t be the ones to be selling us a dummy about how they are poised to transform a system they had a hand in ruining.

If the truth must be told, a large chunk of the politicians that assembled to plot the downfall of Buhari at that forum should have either shamelessly retied from politics or cooling their heels somewhere in our prisons for the callous rape of our collective patrimony. But because no one resigns from politics here, they are the ones latching on to the same old tricks that empowered them to glibly impoverish the vulnerable majority.

Don’t get it twisted, there is nothing wrong with a coalition if such would truly lead to the advancement of democratic governance and enhance the nation’s economic development. But this concoction being brewed in Wadata House is a poisoned chalice. It doesn’t smell nice. It riddled with the scallywags of our infamous past and confessed election riggers. It is peopled by persons who thrived on nothing but treachery. In my mind, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) is couched in the meanest form of political chicanery funded by the same persons who betrayed the ruling APC and sold its birthright for a morsel to the opposition PDP at the inception of the Buhari administration. The same persons who told Buhari to keep on dancing as they securely watch his back are the same elements to thrust a dagger through his back, targeting his delicate positioned heart. They know themselves. At the onset, we saw the earlier signs, warned Buhari to be wary of letting off his guards. He didn’t listen neither did he show any signs that he realised how serious the matter was until they started to urinate on his head from their privileged positions. Now, they want him out in the sun to roast pledging what they couldn’t provide in their sixteen years of rudderless leadership.

When you leverage on the percentage of those with corruption cases hanging on their necks at that gathering including those who have failed to account for the billions of naira they collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser to run the 2015 presidential campaign, you can only conclude that these persons would try all the tricks in the books, including blackmail, to make sure that the control of the treasury returns to them. They have already started by directing the President to suspend action on the Executive Order on Asset Forfeiture which was signed last week. We do not need to look far to know why this is expedient.

With majority of the elite and political office holders living way beyond their means, it is inevitable that implementing a law that empowers the government to seize assets suspected to be proceeds of crimes (either economic or otherwise) would not sit well with the direct beneficiaries of a system that runs on corrosive graft.

No wonder it became a subject of discussion at the CUPP’s signing ceremony where a serving senator treated the audience to his usual musical buffoonery of returning ‘home’ with a fake apocalyptic heresy that Buhari is doomed. If men, especially Nigerian politicians, were God, won’t we all be doomed by now?

True, this country needs to divorce itself from the shameful past and begin a true process of political rebirth. It is one thing that has eluded us, not for want of trying but because the task of doing that was often placed in the hands of political buccaneers masquerading as patriots. Unfortunately, the 2019 election process has begun with the charlatans serving a gullible nation with the same phantasmagoric tale that leads to nowhere but the path of damnation. Will we ever exhale someday and have our peace?</s>At least 128 people were killed and 122 others wounded Friday in a suicide bombing at a political rally in the Mastung district of western Pakistan, Balochistan provincial Health Minister Faiz Kakar told EFE.

The explosion took place amid a gathering of supporters of Siraj Raisani, a leader of the Balochistan Awami Party, at a market in the Darengarh area.</s>At least 128 people were killed in a suicide attack in Pakistan that targeted the convoy of a political candidate in this month’s general election, according to Agha Omar Bangulzai, the caretaker Home Minister of Balochistan province.

Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, who was campaigning for an assembly seat in the southern province of Balochistan, was killed in the bomb blast along with dozens of others, Balochistan Home Secretary Haider Ali Shikoh told CNN.

Bangulzai told CNN that more than 200 people were also injured in the explosion, which occurred in the Mastung area, close to the provincial capital Quetta. It is the deadliest terror strike in Pakistan this year.

Most of the wounded were taken to Quetta Civil Hospital, where many are recovering from burn injuries, according to Dr. Faheem, the head of the trauma unit at the hospital.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in an email. CNN cannot immediately authenticate the assertion.

The Balochistan government announced two days of mourning and ordered that the national flag fly at half-staff. Political parties in the province announced suspension of political activities in the aftermath of deadly suicide bombing.

The director of civil defense, Muhammad Aslam Tareen, told CNN that eight to 10 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.

Abdul Majeed, 36, was among the scores of people injured. Before he was taken to the hospital, Majeed said he could hear dozens of people crying and could only see “dust and blood” at the site of the blast. He lost two relatives in the attack, he said.

Another strike in Pakistan on Friday targeted former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Khan Durrani’s convoy in Bannu while it traveled from one political rally to the next.

Four people were killed and 32 others were injured in the bombing, which took place in North Waziristan, close to the border with Afghanistan. Duranni survived.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack in North Waziristan.

The violence comes the same day as former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan to face 10 years’ imprisonment on corruption-related charges.

His conviction last week dealt a blow to his party’s prospects in the election and shifted the political landscape just three weeks before the vote.

Earlier Friday, authorities in Lahore, Punjab Province, were preparing for mass protests in support of the Sharifs, who party members say have been unfairly targeted.

With each attack, fears of violence ahead of the election are rising. On Tuesday, at least 20 people died and 63 were injured in a suicide attack in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, for which the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.</s>(CNN) — At least 85 people have died in a suicide attack in Pakistan that targeted the convoy of a political candidate in this month’s general election, according to regional Health Minister Faiz Kakar.

Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, who was campaigning for an assembly seat in the southern province of Balochistan, was killed in the bomb blast along with dozens of others, Balochistan Home Secretary Haider Ali Shikoh told CNN.

Kakar told CNN that at least 120 were also injured in the blast, which occurred in the Mastung area, close to the provincial capital Quetta. It is the deadliest terror strike in Pakistan this year.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in an email. CNN cannot immediately authenticate the assertion.

The director of civil defense, Muhammad Aslam Tareen, told CNN that eight to 10 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.

Another strike in Pakistan on Friday targeted former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Khan Durrani’s convoy in Bannu while it traveled from one political rally to the next.

Four people were killed and 32 others were injured in the bombing, which took place in North Waziristan, close to the border with Afghanistan. Candidate Duranni survived.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack in North Waziristan.

The violence comes the same day as former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan to face 10 years’ imprisonment on corruption-related charges.

His conviction last week dealt a blow to his party’s prospects in the election and shifted the political landscape just three weeks before the vote.

Earlier Friday, authorities in Lahore, Punjab Province, were preparing for mass protests in support of the Sharifs, who party members say have been unfairly targeted.

With each attack, fears of violence ahead of the election are rising. On Tuesday, at least 20 people died and 63 were injured in a suicide attack in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, for which the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.</s>The Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) Thursday said that the recently inaugurated political grand alliance named Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) was a culmination of its Initiative towards ultimately ensuring better governance from May 29, 2019.

In a statement signed by Its Chairmen, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba and Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa, after an expanded steering committee meeting of NIM, debunked the notion being peddled that one of the political parties that make up the alliance initiated intends to surreptitiously control all other parties in CUPP.

Reminding Nigerians that NIM was essentially the only member of the alliance that is not a political party, Agbakoba stated that “NIM’s modus operandi, ab initio, has been to initiate a united alliance of like-minded individuals, parties and movements towards achieving a New Nigeria via the ballot box come May 29, 2019.

“NIM is working hard to bring more parties into the CUPP, and to end any further misperception regarding CUPP’s purpose and relevance in ensuring that Nigeria does not become a failed state where genocidal actions, brazen impunity and developmental retrogression are the norm!”

NIM co-Chairman Balewa added: “Now we’ve all come together against all expectations and created a formidable alliance, we are not surprised that there’s vicious propaganda deployed against CUPP. But, come 2019, CUPP will be the Victor Ludorum!”</s>Peshawar: At least four people were killed and 14 others, including a senior leader of an Islamist party, injured on Friday in a bomb blast on an election rally in northwest Pakistan, the third terror attack on a political rally ahead of the 25 July general elections.

Former federal minister and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) central leader Akram Durrani received minor injuries in the blast in Bannu district bordering north Waziristan tribal district. The explosives were fitted to a motorbike which exploded close to the vehicle of Durrani, who is the candidate of Muttahida Majlis–e–Amal (MMA), a political alliance consisting of conservative, Islamist, religious, and far-right parties of Pakistan.

The blast took place around 40 metre away from the venue of a public meeting, Regional police officer Bannu Karim Khan said. The injured have been shifted to a local hospital where five are stated to be in critical condition. This was the third terrorist attack on an election rally in Pakistan ahead of the general elections.

On 10 July, senior secular leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) Haroon Bilour and 19 others were killed when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up in an election rally in Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city. Earlier this month, seven people including a candidate of the MMA were injured in an explosion during an election rally near Takhtikhel in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A suicide bomb attack near Mastung, Pakistan, kills 129 people, including political party candidate Siraj Raisani, during a political campaign. This is the third consecutive attack on a political rally.