40 dead in a PPP election rally; 81,000 troops deployed for polls; Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan abducted; Operations continue in Swat
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  • At least 40 people were killed and 93 injured in a bomb explosion in Parachinagar where a PPP election rally was being held on February 16. Reports indicated that the bomb was planted in a car1. In another incident of pre-election violence, militants bombed six polling stations near Anyat valley in Khar on the same day2.

    Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff General Kayani stated that the government had deployed over 80,000 troops including para-military forces at nearly 9000 polling stations considered to be sensitive in an attempt to ensure peaceful and fair polls3.

    Among other developments, Tariq Azizuddin, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan was abducted from the Khyber tribal region along with his security guards on February 11. A massive search was launched on the Pak-Afghan border by the security forces.

    As a part of the ongoing offensive against militants in Swat, security forces arrested 36 militants on February 10 and another 10 in Karachi on February 154. The Army also launched massive operations against militants in Darra Adam Khel after rockets were fired on ‘telecommunication installations’ on February 145.

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