Iran condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan

The Foreign Ministry of Iran condemned fatal terrorist attacks that targeted election campaign offices of Pakistani candidates in the neighboring country’s Balochistan province.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the twin blasts in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan that killed dozens of people on February 7, a day before countrywide elections, Tasnim News Agency reports.

The purpose of terrorists was to upset the course of democracy in Pakistan and disrupt calm ahead of elections, he said.

The spokesman also noted that Iran stands by the Pakistani government and nation, as its friend, neighbor and brother, in safeguarding the process of democracy and fighting against terrorism.

The twin blasts that targeted the election offices of political parties in Pakistan’s Balochistan on February 7 have killed at least 28 people.

The first blast, which killed 16 people, took place at the office of independent election candidate Asfandyar Khan Kakar in Pishin district near the border with Afghanistan, said Jan Achakzai, Balochistan’s caretaker information minister. More than 20 people were reported wounded.

The blast was the result of an improvised explosive device attached to a motorcycle, he said.

The second explosion in Qilla Saifullah detonated near an office of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a religious party that has previously been the target of attacks. At least 12 people were killed in that attack and several others were injured, Achakzai said, Al Jazeera reported.

The Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blasts.