A bomb exploded on Wednesday outside the campaign office of a political candidate in south-western Pakistan, killing at least 12 people ahead of Thursday voting, officials said.

The bombing in the town of Pishin in the volatile province of Balochistan targeted the candidate a day ahead of the national elections in Pakistan, local official Jamal Uddin said.

More than 30 people were wounded and were being treated at a local hospital, doctor Habib Khan told a local television channel.

It wasn’t immediately known if it was suicide bombing or a planted device went off, Mr Uddin added.

It is also not known if the candidate for the local constituency, Asfandyar Kakar, was at the office at the time of the bombing, Mr Uddin said.

Violence by Islamist militants has surged in Pakistan in recent months ahead of the vote scheduled for Thursday.

The north-western provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which both share a border with Afghanistan, have seen a rise in violence since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. 

(dpa/NAN)