PESHAWAR: Gunmen killed two poll campaigners in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal region yesterday, police said.
The attackers ambushed a car carrying workers of independent candidate Abdul Rahim Burki in Dera Ismail Khan district, police chief Khalid Sohail said. Taliban militants have vowed to target secular parties running in the May 11 general elections.
“The assailants opened fire on the car, its driver lost control and the vehicle hit a tree. Two workers were killed and three wounded,” Sohail said, adding the gunmen fled on a motorbike.
Burki is contesting a seat in South Waziristan tribal district, which is under military control. Most of the population fled after a military operation expelled Taliban and Al Qaeda linked militants. He said more than 80 percent of his voters were living in Dera Ismail Khan and the nearby Tank district, though their votes will count in the South Waziristan constituency.
He said the car was identified as connected to his campaign but he had no idea who the attackers were. “This is my first election. I have no party affiliation and I received no threats from any group so far. It appears they had been waiting to target the vehicle.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan said it was behind two attacks on Sunday and the killing of a candidate of the outgoing coalition partner the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the first to die in poll campaign on Thursday. AFP
