Violence mars electioneering activities
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Rehan Zeb Khan was shot dead on Wednesday in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, police said.The PTI-backed candidate was contesting elections from NA-8 and PK-22 seats.
Rehan was present in Sadiqabad Phatak Bazar area of the tribal district in connection with the election campaign when unidentified assailants fired upon him, leaving him dead on the spot. The attack comes in the backdrop of increased terrorist attacks that have plagued particularly Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces in recent months.
With more than 128 million voters, various circles have raised concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the country, especially in the aforementioned provinces, with some lawmakers even moving the Senate seeking poll delay in light of security threats.
Previous general election campaigns have witnessed spasms of violence, with scores of candidates and voters targeted by bombings and gun attacks and it seems that the 2024 polls are likely to be no different as the country has witnessed a significant surge in targeting of electioneering activities and candidates.
A day earlier, at least four people lost their lives after a blast targeted the former ruling party’s rally in Balochistan’s Sibi.Rehan is not the first Imran Khan-founded PTI leader to have lost his life in the run-up to the polls as previously Shah Khalid was shot dead by unidentified men in the province’s Swabi district
