The shocking news of a blast in Peshawar at an Awami National Party (ANP) broke a few hours ago via Twitter. It reportedly took place in the heart of the city, in the Yakatoot area. ANP leader Haroon Bilour’s vehicle was the alleged target.
The public wasted no time in taking to Twitter with the news:
Unfortunately, it was not long before it was announced that the critically injured Haroon Bilour had ‘succumbed to his injuries’.
Haroon Bilour was approaching the election rally when the explosion took place. Sources say his son Danial has also been injured. Something that seems to be really hitting people hard is that Haroon’s father, Bashir Bilour met his end exactly the same way in 2012. 
Moreover, this is far from being the first time something like this has happened in the wake of this year’s elections.
The leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and his supporters were injured in a blast just last week in southern Bannu. This happened while the party was passing through the PK-89 constituency as part of their election campaign. What’s more, the leadership of other prominent parties such as the PTI and the PML-N is also facing serious threats. In fact, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) says almost all prominent political parties are under threat.
These dangerous developments have people expressing their uncertainty as to ‘what’s next’:
Furthermore, the incident is raising security questions amongst the public. What kind of security measures were being taken and will they be expounded upon now? 
The suicide bomber was purportedly very close to his intended target, which certainly grants legitimacy to questions being raised regarding the security situation. 
Most recent reports are citing the death toll to be at 12, with 35 others injured. The bodies are being received and the injured tended to at Lady Reading Hospital. This sort of terrifying uncertainty has become something of a prerequisite for elections here in Pakistan. During this difficult time, we as citizens need to be careful about the news we spread. Let’s not be harsh with our judgments or set out with cold speculations; we need to realize that people are losing their lives right at this moment not very far away from us. While it is easy to get carried away in our political affiliations and play the blame game let’s focus on the greater questions:
Will democratic politics ever see a peaceful change in government? Or will Pakistan alarmingly continue to see a synonymous rise in innocent body count as we get closer to July 25, 2018?