By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

At least seven people were killed in a suicide bombing on Wednesday in the Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Several other people were wounded in the attack.

The bombing was carried out at the office of lawmaker Sardar Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz political party. Mr. Khosa was in Islamabad at the time of the bombing, but some of his junior officials and supporters were meeting at his office and were killed.

Police believe that a suicide bomber approached Mr. Khosa’s office on foot, but witnesses have reported that two attackers drove into his office on motorcycles and detonated the bomb.

While the motive for the attack remains unclear, authorities believe that the attack was carried out by the Pakistani Taliban because they have previously taken credit for similar attacks. District Police Chief Ghulam Mubashir Maken stated that the attack could have been made in retaliation for the recent killing of Malik Ishaq, a former leader of anti-Shiite militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Mr. Ishaq was killed by Pakistani security forces in July.

Mr. Khosa told the New York Times that he did not know what the motive behind the bombing could be and that he had not received any threats from militant groups. He also stated that he had no disputes with anyone. Mr. Khosa has condemned the attack and has stated that while many of his close political workers were killed during the bombing, he and his party will not abandon their battle against terrorism.

Last year, Pakistan began a campaign against the Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist groups. Overall, while the campaign has been successful in decreasing violence in Pakistan, there have still been attacks such as the killing of Punjab’s home minister, Shuja Khanzada, earlier this year. Mr. Khanzada was meeting with people in his constituency office in Punjab when he and seventeen others were killed by a suicide bomber.

The bombing comes at the start of Muharram, a holy month in the Islamic calendar which has been marked by terrorist attacks in years past. In the past decade, tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have been killed in attacks initiated by local and al-Qaida-linked foreign Islamic militant groups.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Seven Killed in Suspected Suicide Bombing at Pakistan MP’s Office – 14 October 2015

Khaleej Times – Bomb Blast Targeting Lawmaker Kills 7 in Pakistan – October 14 2015

Newsweek Pakistan – Bomb Kills Five in Taunsa – 14 October 2015

The New York Times – Suicide Attack at Lawmaker’s Office in Pakistan Kills at Least 7 – 14 October 2015

Pakistan Today – Blast at MNA’s political office in DG Khan, Seven Killed, Several Wounded – 14 October 2015

U.S. News and World Report – Police: Suicide Bombing Targeting Ruling Party Lawmaker Kills 7 in Central Pakistan – 14 October 2015

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

Myanmar will hold national elections on November 8^th as scheduled, contrary to an announcement on Tuesday that the elections would potentially be postponed. The leader of Myanmar’s Union Election Commission, U Tin Aye, announced the potential postponement to representatives of Myanmar’s ten biggest political parties on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Aye stated that the possible postponement was due to severe flooding in parts of Myanmar, and that the effects of the flooding could make it difficult for some areas to accommodate voters. Myanmar’s national law permits the election commission to postpone or cancel elections in areas affected by natural disasters or security problems.

The Union Election Commission has stated that it reviewed statements from committee members about the pros and cons of postponing the election and that it decided to hold the election on the already scheduled date of November 8^th.

The possible postponement came at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), is gaining increasing support. In responding to the possible postponement of this year’s election, the NLD has said that it believes the postponement was an attempt by the government to thwart its chances of winning the election.

The upcoming national elections will be the first time since 1990 that parties will be allowed to freely challenge the military’s control in Myanmar. In the 1990 election, the NLD won 80% of the legislative seats, but the then-ruling military regime refused to hand over power to the party. The military sent the NLD’s leaders in prison and placed Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest for fifteen years.

Ms. Suu Kyi stated last week that she plans to lead Myanmar if the NLD wins the November elections, in spite of a ban on her serving as president. Under a constitutional provision, Ms. Suu Kyi may not hold the presidential office because she has two foreign children.

Myanmar’s current governing party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, is nominally civilian run but military-backed and is made up mostly of former military generals. The USDP is led by President Thein Sein and took power in 2011 after years of military dictatorial rule.

Myanmar’s government has pledged to honor the results of the election, but critics among the current government’s opposition are distrustful of the military’s continued influence in the current government.

Election monitors and international organizations including the European Union and U.S groups such as the Carter Center are assisting Myanmar in its preparation for the upcoming elections.

For more information, please see:

 The Guardian – Hours After Proposed Delay, Myanmar Says Elections to be Held on Time – 13 October 2015

The New York Times – Myanmar Government Seeks to Calm Fears of Election Postponement – 13 October 2015

Voice of America – No Delay to Myanmar Elections – 13 October 2015

The Wall Street Journal – Myanmar Says Election Will go Ahead as Planned – 13 October 2015