[6] In the runup to the general election on 8 February, several attacks targeting election-related facilities had occurred in Balochistan Province, some of which were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, which had urged a boycott of the vote.
[4] More than two dozen attacks were reported across the province in the week before the bombings, while caretaker provincial home minister Muhammad Zubair Jamali said that almost 80% of Balochistan's 5,028 polling stations had been declared "sensitive".
[7] The first blast, caused by an IED which was planted on a motorbike, killed at least 16 people outside the office of independent candidate Asfand Yar Khan Kakar in Pishin.
[3] On 9 February, Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military, issued a statement claiming the mastermind of the bombings was killed during an intelligence-based operation.
[citation needed] Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar denounced the bombings and expressed condolences to the families of the dead, vowing that "every attempt to sabotage the law and order situation will be thwarted" and pledging the government's commitment to hold elections peacefully.
[20] The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the bombings "in the strongest terms", affirming its stance against terrorism and extremism and expressing solidarity with Pakistan and its people.
[23] Amnesty International voiced concern over the escalation of violence targeting election candidates and political entities, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the bombings.