Wazoo Agency, on Saturday after expelling polling agents of 33 candidates, including that of Awami National Party, from polling stations.The polling, however, remained peaceful in all the seven tribal agencies and six Frontier Regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and the turnout was impressive in the region except troubled Orakzai Agency
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
.
Taliban made announcements in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a
ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
and other parts of North Waziristan Agency on Friday night, asking people not to allow women to cast their votes. Women were also not allowed to exercise their right to vote in Orakzai.
However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
a large number of women polled votes in South Waziristan, Khyber, Kurram, Bajaur, Mohmand and Frontier Regions. Elections have been postponed in NA-38, Kurram Agency
...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora...
, due to disturbance in central sub-division of the area.
Reports said that Taliban allowed polling agents of Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
, Pakistain Musselmen League-Nawaz, Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
(JUI-F), two independent candidates; Mohammad Ali and Naseerullah Khan, to stay at the polling stations in NA-41. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
polling agents of some candidates, including ANP's Ayaz Wazir, were asked to leave polling stations.
Ayaz Wazir told Dawn that security forces and officials of the political administration were absent and left polling stations at the mercy of Taliban and Khasadars. "My agents were forced to leave polling stations in the morning," he alleged. A resident of Wana said that Taliban had expelled polling agents of some candidates from polling stations because they did not pay Rs70,000 security fee. He said that armed volunteers of the Taliban-led Shura were providing security at polling stations in Wana and other areas.
"In fact candidates were short-listed in NA-41," complained another resident of Wana while requesting not to be named. Women polled their votes in South Waziristan. Rush was witnessed at polling stations.
Details about polling in Spinkai Raghzai, Chegmalai and Sararogha of NA-42, the Mehsud tribe-dominated constituency of South Waziristan, could not be obtained because of unavailability of telecommunication facilities in the area.
Polling remained peaceful in NA-40, North Waziristan Agency, and voters cast their vote. Taliban barred women from polling in North Waziristan and polling stations set up for them were seen deserted. Even female polling staff did not reach polling stations.
Reports said that turnout remained very impressive in Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...where a female candidate Badam Zarai was contesting elections.
Voters, particularly youngsters, made long queues at the polling stations waiting for their turn. Extensive security arrangements were made at both constituencies in Bajaur and people ignored threats. Women also polled votes.
Polling was held in peaceful atmosphere in Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
and both men and women cast their votes. Remarkable rush of voters was witnessed at polling stations at Ghalanai and other areas of Mohmand. Situation in NA-37, Kurram Agency, remained peaceful and moderate rush of voters was observed there. Army, Frontier Corps and Levies personnel were deployed heavily in the area and voters cast their vote in safe atmosphere.
Polling for NA-45 in Khyber Agency
remained peaceful as thousands of voters, including women, turned up at the polling stations both in Landi Kotal and Jamrud.Elderly and handicapped men and women were seen on wheelchairs coming to the polling stations while young voters also showed enthusiasm in casting vote. Overall situation at Landi Kotal and Jamrud remained under control as security forces conducted regular patrolling of over one hundred polling stations in NA-45.
Arrangements inside polling stations were also to the satisfaction of most of the voters and contesting candidates and voters faced no obstruction in casting their votes.
In Jamrud, some candidates accused their opponents of obstructing female voting, but the issue was resolved after the intervention of local authorities. Polling at Jalozai and Shah Kas was suspended for about two hours after some candidates raised objections over anomalies in the voters list. Supporters of some candidates in Shah Kas ransacked some polling stations after they found their names missing from the voters list.