NEW DELHI: Violence and bombing attacks have increased in Pakistan in recent days as the country prepares for the general elections. A day before elections, two bombs in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan have reportedly killed at least 25 people with many more injured.

The first attack targetted the election offices of political parties in the area took place at the office of independent election candidate Asfandyar Khan Kakar in Pishin district near the border with Afghanistan and it is estimated at least 17 people may have been killed and an equal number of people injured.

The second explosion was in Qilla Saifullah detonated near an office of the religious party Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), which has been the target of attacks in the past, as per reports about 8 people have been killed in this blast, injuring about a dozen more.

According to a senior police official in Balochistan Panjgur, Abdullah Zehri who is quoted by several media houses, the blast outside the election office of candidate Asfandyar Khan Kakar was detonated remotely and was placed in a bag outside the building. He said that the condition of some of the injured is critical and they have been rushed to Quetta for treatment.

In a statement on social media X, Balochistan's Home Minister Jan Achakzai condemned the attacks and announced that elections would be held as per schedule. "In light of the tragic Pishin blast, which claimed the lives of 12 individuals and left 24 others injured, and the Qilla Saifullah blast, which killed 10 people, it is important to emphasize that the scheduled elections will proceed as planned,” he said in a statement on X.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also confirmed the two blasts and said security had been further enhanced in the province for Thursday's elections and it has said, "The perpetrators of these terror attacks will be caught and dealt with."

On Tuesday, 10 grenade attacks were carried out at security posts, election campaign offices and rallies in different areas of the province. Since Sunday, there have been around 50 such attacks carried out in the province and in one incident in Sibi town attackers targeted an election rally of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate for the National Assembly in which four people lost their lives and six were injured.