{UAH} Pakistan election 2018: Quetta explosion leaves at least 31 people dead outside polling station
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Pakistan election 2018: Quetta explosion leaves at least 31 people dead outside polling station
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Isis has claimed responsibility for a blast outside a crowded polling station on election day in Pakistan which has claimed at least 31 lives.
A hospital official said a further 40 people were wounded in the explosion in Quetta.
Jaffer Kaker, a doctor, said five policemen and two children are among the dead. He fears the death toll could rise as many of the wounded are in a critical condition.
The attack on Wednesday was targeting a police van, reports said, as the nation holds general elections.
It was unclear if voting had been disrupted by the attack.
Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the police chief in Baluchistan's provincial capital, said the explosion took place when near the city's eastern bypass.
Television images showed a charred police vehicle, cordoned off by security officials.
The violence comes as millions across the country are heading to the polls to choose a new government.
Pakistanis are voting in general elections for 270 members of the law-making National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, and 577 seats in four provincial assemblies.
Polling across the country for the 11th general election began at 8am local time (4am BST).
Geo TV put the death toll at 22, while rival Samaa TV put it at 20.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Baluchistan also saw the deadliest suicide bombing in the run-up to election day, with 149 people, including a provincial assembly candidate, killed at a campaign this month.
The leading candidates to become prime minister following the election condemned the attack on Twitter.
Imran Khan called it a "terrorist attack" by Pakistan's enemies "seeking to disrupt our democratic process".
His opponent Shehbaz Sharif said he was "heartbroken" to learn about the attack and said that police officials were among those who died.
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