Pakistan: Candidate Affiliated with Imran Khan's Party Fatally Shot During Poll Campaign

An independent candidate associated with Imran Khan’s PTI was fatally shot in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday. The shooting happened in the Siddiqabad area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district.

Raising a “big question mark” on the fairness of polls this month, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has said that their candidates and public gatherings were being targeted by “terrorist attacks.” This comes as Khan’s party has been stripped of its traditional electoral symbol, a cricket bat, on technical grounds, and its candidates are contesting the election as independents.

Rehan Zeb Khan was campaigning in the area when armed men opened fire on his vehicle, the Dawn newspaper reported. He was taken to a district hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. Four other people were also injured in the attack, the Pakistan newspaper said, adding that the incident appeared to be a “targeted killing.” The PTI said Rehan was a “party-backed candidate for a National Assembly seat” and strongly condemned the killing.  “After the attack on PTI’s election rally in Sibi, the responsibility for the killing of the [party-backed] National Assembly candidate is on the incompetent caretaker government,” the party said.

Immediate probe

The PTI demanded an investigation into the attack, adding that those responsible should be swiftly punished. They also asked for security for all PTI-backed candidates participating in the polls and called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the incident. The party accused the caretaker government was focusing on bringing one political party to power instead of discharging its constitutional responsibilities.

The party also called on the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of today’s incident as well as yesterday’s blast at a PTI rally in Sibi. PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan strongly condemned the killing and expressed concern that “an unacceptable plan is being made to break morale and push PTI out of the elections.” Pakistan’s election commission also took notice of the killing but did not name Rehan. The poll body also sought a report from the provincial authorities and directed that those responsible be punished. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the attack. “PPP workers are not afraid of such cowardly attacks,” he said, adding that the ECP should take steps to protect electoral offices.

No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack in a region where Islamist militants operate on both sides of the border. It was the second killing of a candidate linked to the PTI in northwestern Pakistan’s tribal regions in recent weeks. Wednesday’s attack took place a day after a bombing claimed by Islamic State in southwestern Balochistan region following a rally held there by PTI, raising security concerns amid an uptick in militant violence around the parliamentary vote.