This Article is From May 11, 2013

Multiple blasts in Pakistan on polling day, 15 feared dead: reports

Multiple blasts in Pakistan on polling day, 15 feared dead: reports
Kochi:

Multiple blasts hit three Pakistani cities on Saturday ashistoric polls got underway in the country. At least 15 people are feared deadand many more have been injured, media reports said. (See pics)

Two blasts in Pakistan's financial hub of Karachi targeted the office of theAwami National Party. Taliban militants had threatened to attack threepolitical parties on election day.

Awami National Party offices were also targeted by Taliban militants during therun-up to the elections. More than 130 people were killed in bombings andshootings ahead of the historic vote in what many observers have calledPakistan's most deadly election. (Complete coverage)

The vote is being watched closely by Washington since the US relies on thenuclear-armed country for help fighting Islamic militants and negotiating anend to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

The poll marks the first time that an elected civilian administration inPakistan has completed a full term and has stood aside to allow voters tochoose its successor. There have been three military coups and four militaryrulers in the country.

In the historic election, former cricket star Imran Khan, who has almostmythical status in Pakistan, has challenged the dominance of the country's twomain political parties, making the outcome of the election very hard to call.He is facing off against the Pakistan Muslim League-N, headed by two-timeformer prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan People's Party, led byPresident Asif Ali Zardari.

But after five years of inflation, electricity blackouts and militant attacks,the PPP is expected to fare poorly in the vote.

While Sharif has billed himself as the candidate of experience, Khan is tryingto tap into the frustrations of millions of Pakistanis who want a change fromthe traditional politicians who have dominated Pakistani politics for years.

As Pakistanis headed to the polls, there was a sense of excitement among anelectorate aware of the historical significance of their vote and the risk theywere taking.

"Bombs or terrorist attacks must not stop voters from using their right ofvote," said 70-year-old Humayon Qaiser. "People will have to decidewhat kind of Pakistan they want. If they vote for the wrong party, they willsuffer for another five years."

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