An explosion has been reported in Karachi, Pakistan, according to police in the country. The bomb killed at least five people outside of an election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political party. The election office was the apparent target of the terror attack. The blast, according to recent reports, injured at least thirteen additional people. Reports indicated that the blast emanated from a car parked close to the building.
An outlawed group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group has made statements indicating its feeling that democracy is un-Islamic, and issued threats to some of the country’s major political parties, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is a secular and liberal party in Pakistan. That makes it a prime target for terrorists affiliated with the Taliban movement. Pakistan is a country of heated rivalries, and one in which religion often takes a central role. Earlier on Thursday Pakistan’s top clerical body, the Ulema Council, announced that voting in the upcoming election was a religious obligation for all Muslims.
The Taliban’s claiming of responsibility for the attack, and the additional threats the group made against other political parties in the country, make it a difficult time for the citizens of Karachi, and others around Pakistan.
The bomb at the election headquarters of one of the country’s major political parties is a startling development in a country heading for elections in just two weeks. Elections will take place across Pakistan on May 11.
