19 killed as suicide bomber targets protesters in Afghanistan
Kabul, Sep 11: At least 19 people were killed and 57 wounded on Tuesday in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in a suicide attack on protesters who were calling for the dismissal of a police commander.
The incident, the fourth attack to hit the region on Tuesday, took place around 1 p.m, when an insurgent detonated a bomb he was carrying in his vest in the Momand Darah district, said Attaullah Khogyanai, spokesperson for Nangarhar governor.
"So far 19 martyred and 57 injured in suicide attack," Inamullah Myakhil, spokesman for Nangarhar Public Health Department told Efe news.
The incident occurred on the highway that connects Jalalabad with the Torkham border pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where a protest against a local police commander from the neighbouring Achin province was being held.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
This was the fourth attack of the day, after a 14-year-old died and four civilians were injured in three separate explosions near two girls' schools in Nangarhar. Two other blasts took place in Behsud district early morning.
Khogyanai said that the third attack took place in the police district 3 of the capital where one civilian sustained injuries.
In the past weeks, Nangarhar, the bastion of the Islamic State terror organization since it became active in the country in 2015, has faced a large number of attacks targeting elections, the government and civilians.
In late August, two people died and four were injured in a suicide attack during a protest near a provincial office of the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
