Two men killed in Pakistan election violence

10/10/2002| IslamWeb

Two people were killed and seven wounded in three separate clashes at polling stations in Pakistan on Thursday during elections meant to return the country to civilian rule, government and medical officials said. One man was killed and two wounded when supporters of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the small National Peoples Party clashed in the town of Moro, roughly 300 km north of the southern port city of Karachi.

"There was a clash between the two groups outside a polling station in Moro in which one man was killed and two others injured," said Sindh provincial Home Secretary Mukhtar Ahmed.

Another man was killed and four wounded in a clash between PPP supporters and those of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, near the central city of Multan, according to hospital staff.

One man also received a head injury after a clash in the eastern city of Lahore, hospital officials said.

Thursday's election is the first since General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999.

Police are guarding polling stations throughout Pakistan amid concerns about violence from extremist Islamic groups.

PHOTO CAPTION

Election workers carry ballot boxes as part of preparations for Thursday's general election in Multan on October 9, 2002. Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, speaking on the eve of a general election which is to usher in civilian rule, said on Wednesday that the country stood on the threshold of a 'new democratic era'. REUTERS/Asim Tanveer