Two blasts near electoral candidates' offices in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan killed 26 people and injured dozens, local officials said on Wednesday, raising concerns over security on the eve of a general election.
Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday amid rising militant attacks in recent months and the jailing of Imran Khan, the winner of the last national election, who has been dominating the headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country.
Authorities have said they are boosting security at polling booths.
The first attack, which killed 14, took place at the office of an independent election candidate in Pishin district.
The second explosion in Qilla Saifullah, a town near the Afghan border, detonated near an office of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a religious party that has previously been the target of militant attacks, according to the province's information minister.
The deputy commissioner of Qila Saifullah, Yasir Bazai, said that 12 people were killed in the blast which emanated from a motorcycle parked near the office and 25 were injured.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks. Several groups, including the Islamist militant Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and separatist groups from Balochistan, oppose the Pakistani state and have carried out attacks in recent months.
