Candidate from Imran Khan's Party Injured, His Driver Killed In Pak Blast

A suicide bomber injured a candidate from the party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and killed his driver in an attack in northwest Pakistan Sunday, police said, three days before the country's general election.

Five others were also injured in the blast in the city of Dera Ismail Khan and have been rushed to hospital, local police official Kamal Shah said.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up near the vehicle of Ikramullah Gandapur as he left his house for election campaign," district police chief Zaheer Afridi told AFP.

"Gandapur was injured along with five others while his driver died on the spot," he added.

Video footage showed the driver on the seat of Gandapur's black Land Cruiser as his armed guards rushed to save the injured.

The attack followed a suicide blast in the southwestern province of Balochistan on July 13 which killed 149 people, underscoring continuing security challenges in Pakistan following years of dramatic improvements.

Violence in Pakistan has dropped significantly since the country's deadliest-ever terrorist attack, an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people, most of them children.

Pakistan's military intensified operations against terrorists in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan in the wake of that attack, leading to improved security.

But analysts have long warned that Pakistan is not tackling the root causes of extremism, and that terrorists retain the ability to carry out spectacular attacks.

Khan is hoping to achieve a years-long dream of becoming prime minister, with recent polls showing his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party climbing nationally ahead of Wednesday's vote.