Bajaur political diary: Electioneering in FATA’s smallest agency

Many tribesmen are contesting as independents because of threats to political parties.

KHAR/ PESHAWAR: Bajaur Agency is one of the smallest and most politically divided agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). It comprises of two constituencies NA-43 and NA-44.

It is also the first agency from Fata from where a governor for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been appointed. The agency has around 295,278 registered voters.

This constituency comprises of Khar tehsil, Utman Khel, Barang and Salarzai. Candidates from political parties claim the arena has changed and they will win from the constituency, while independent candidates say politics in the agency was always based on the tribal system where influential personalities have an advantage over political affiliations.

In 2008, Akhundzada Chattan won from NA-44 as an independent candidate; he is now contesting on a PPP ticket. JI has given a ticket to Haji Sardar Khan, PML-N’s ticket holder is former MNA and chief of Salarzai pro-government militia Shahabuddin Khan. The Qaumi Watan Party had given a ticket to Sher Ali who withdrew his papers. The ANP awarded a ticket to Gul Afzal, PTI to Gul Dad Khan and JUI-F to former Senator Abdur Rasheed. The strongest independent candidate is former MPA Haji Bhadur Khan, who is contesting from NA-44 because of his influence in the agency.



Currently, JI, PML-N, ANP, PPP, JUI-F and PTI are all going strong. The ANP and PPP cannot hold rallies while JI, JUI-F and PTI are campaigning and holding public gatherings. PTI was being considered a strong contender, but after rifts among party workers over ticket allotment and Nawbzada Anwarzeb Khan and Jalaluddin quitting, the votes of the party have been divided.

PTI candidate Guldad Khan claimed the party still had strength in the form of youth, who hope for change in Bajaur.

Both Anwarzeb and Jalaluddin are supporting ANP in the elections. The JI is another strong party but its votes have been distributed to independent candidate Haji Bahadur Khan because Uthman Khel tribesmen, a JI stronghold, have decided to support Bahadur.

Similarly, the ANP is also facing problems as many of the tribal elders in Barang and Uthman Khel, a vote bank of the ANP, have now decided to support independent candidates.



The tribesmen are unhappy with PPP candidate Akhundzada Chattan who despite inaugurating a 132 kilovolt grid station in Khar, the agency headquarters, was not able to fulfil his promise of overcoming the energy crisis and thus lost a huge vote bank.

PML-N’s Shahabuddin Khan seems to have the most support in the constituency. Badam Zari, the first female candidate from the agency who is contesting to bring a change in the education system, does not seem to be in a strong position.

Some tribesmen in Barang and other tehsils have decided not to vote for any candidate, saying many promises were made in the last election but not fulfilled.

The constituency comprises of Mamond tehsil, some areas of Khar tehsil from Sadiqabad to Zoor Bander along with Nawagai, Charmang and upper areas of Chamarkand. In 2008, Governor Shaukatullah Khan won from the constituency as an independent candidate.



All major political parties have awarded tickets to tribesmen from the constituency. Despite the implementation of the Political Parties Act, many people are contesting as independents because of security threats to political parties. Many tribesmen believe the Political Parties Act brought a change in Fata as the presence of political forces has decreased the influence of the political administration in the region and on the candidates.

The Awami National Party (ANP) had awarded a ticket from NA-43 to Sheikh Janzada who withdrew his application in favour of Haji Bismillah Khan, an independent candidate and father of Governor Shaukatullah. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) gave a ticket to Abdullah, son of former MNA Haji Lal Karim. From the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) former MNA and JI Fata chief Haroon Rasheed and from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Muhammad Sadiq were given tickets, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf gave a ticket to Saeedur Rahman and Zafar Khan, respectively. A number of independent candidates are also contesting from the NA-43.

The JI, PTI and Haji Bismillah Khan are currently being considered as favourites and a tough contest is expected among these three in the constituency.

It was largely expected that Dr Khalil, the PTI’s president in Bajaur would be nominated as the candidate for the party, but the parliamentary board awarded the ticket to Zafar Khan instead, creating dissent within the party.

After being sidelined by the PTI leadership, Dr Khalil along with hundreds of PTI activists joined hands with Haji Bismillah Khan and formed PTI-Nazriyati, thus boosting Haji’s position in the constituency. The PTI is trying to get Dr Khalil back, but so far they remain unsuccessful.

Dr Khalil, while talking to The Express Tribune, said he has neither left the PTI nor is he supporting other people in the elections. “If the PTI parliamentary board are relying on the candidate they chose then why are they trying to convince me to join their campaign now?”

The JI has a strong footing in the agency and is expected to receive a lot of votes from tribesmen.

Resident Syed Jamal said it is a known fact that “JI supports right-wingers in the agency and in return they support the party.” JI carries out its election campaigns in troubled areas and no one says anything to them, while Haji has to go door-to-door for his campaign because of security threats. This factor makes the JI a strong contestant in NA-43.”

While Haji’s position looks secure, JI’s Haroon Rasheed, PPP’s Saeed Rehman and independent candidates Fatehur Rahman, Muhammad Iqbal and Haji Fazal allege Haji’s campaign has been launched from the Governor House and demanded the election commission to take action against the ongoing development projects in Bajaur.

These candidates claim the Governor House has been turned into an election office for Haji and various tribal elders from Khar, Chamarkand and Mamond have been bribed to support him while the political administration is also being influenced by Governor Shaukatullah himself.

“In some places, our flags and posters were torn by the political administration,” Fazal alleged.

Many tribesmen from the agency blame Haji, Governor Shaukatullah and the political administration officials of rigging the polls.

Notable contenders for NA-43 

ANP had awarded a ticket to Sheikh Janzada who withdrew his application in favour of Haji Bismillah Khan, an independent candidate. The PML-N gave a ticket to Abdullah. The JI gave a ticket to JI Fata chief Haroon Rasheed. The JUI-F’s ticket holder is Maulana Muhammad Sadiq while PPP and PTI gave a ticket to Saeedur Rahman and Zafar Khan, respectively. A number of independent candidates are also contesting from the NA-43 including Fatehur Rahman, Muhammad Iqbal and Haji Fazal.

Notable contenders for NA-44

Akhundzada Chattan is contesting on a PPP ticket, JI has given a ticket to Haji Sardar Khan, PML-N’s ticket holder is former MNA and chief of Salarzai pro-government militia Shahabuddin Khan. The QWP had given a ticket to Sher Ali who withdrew his papers. The ANP awarded a ticket to Gul Afzal, PTI to Gul Dad Khan and JUI-F to former Senator Abdur Rasheed. The strongest independent candidate is former MPA Haji Bahadur Khan while Badam Zari is also contesting independently.

[tableau name="Electionresults2002-2008/Electionresultdashboard" static_image=" http://public.tableausoftware.com/static/images/El/Electionresults2002-2008/Electionresultdashboard/1_rss.png"]

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.