Pakistan: Attack on Party Office Kills 5 People

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/asia/pakistan-attack-on-party-office-kills-5-people.html

Version 0 of 1.

A bomb exploded in Karachi outside an election office of one of Pakistan’s main political parties on Thursday evening, killing five people in the latest attack ahead of the nation’s May 11 elections. As the election approaches, militant groups have increasingly been attacking liberal, secular parties. The onslaught has forced many of the parties to change their campaign strategy and raised questions about whether the vote can be considered valid if some mainstream parties cannot properly take part. The bomb that exploded Thursday night had been planted outside an office used by the Muttahida Quami Movement, a liberal, secular party, said a senior police official, Amir Farooqi. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents have also threatened to attack the Awami National Party, a largely Pashtun party based in the northwest and in Karachi, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, which won the last election. All three are perceived as being liberal parties that have earned the Taliban’s ire by advocating against the militants and extremism.