Poll review: In K-P, FATA, election-related violence restricted turnout

Report launched on region’s electoral violence and implications.

ISLAMABAD:

In comparison to Punjab and Sindh, voter turnout was relatively low due to a deep sense of insecurity in  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). This was stated in a report launched by the Fata research centre on Wednesday to gauge the scale and nature of violence during elections.

The report also covered the implications on the transparency, impartiality and reliability of the electoral process and the political system, revealing that attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in K-P and Fata infused an acute sense of insecurity in the region’s residents. Irrespective of grave threats, figures published show a record turnout, according to the report. In the 2008 elections, voter turnout in K-P and Fata was 34 and 31 per cent while this time it was 44 and 36 per cent respectively. The 234 incidents of violence included suicide bombings, bomb blasts, target killings and kidnapping.

Dr Raza Khan, an independent researcher, said fair and transparent elections were crucial for an effective government in K-P. “If the electoral process is greatly affected by violence, it deprives people of their right to franchise,” said Khan.

The total number of attacks reported in the first quarter of 2013 was 120, causing 1,001 casualties including 639 deaths and 362 injuries in all seven agencies of Fata. Attacks on security forces and government installations have increased and those agencies which were considered safe earlier, like Bajaur and Mohmand , are witnessing an increase in terrorist attacks.

In the first quarter of this year, Khyber Agency remained the most volatile. Due to the ongoing military operations in Khyber’s Tirah Valley, around 50,000 people have been displaced internally.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2013.