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| Aspiring Pakistani MP finds voters few and far between on the campaign trail | Aspiring Pakistani MP finds voters few and far between on the campaign trail |
| (12 days later) | |
| With his stress on job creation and economic development, Abdur Rahim Khan Barki reckons he has a good chance of attracting voters to his platform. He just has to find them first. | With his stress on job creation and economic development, Abdur Rahim Khan Barki reckons he has a good chance of attracting voters to his platform. He just has to find them first. |
| An estimated 80% of the population no longer lives in NA-42, the constituency in South Waziristan he hopes to represent after next month's elections. | An estimated 80% of the population no longer lives in NA-42, the constituency in South Waziristan he hopes to represent after next month's elections. |
| Part of the war-torn tribal frontier with Afghanistan, most of the population got up andleft in 2009 to avoid being caught in the counter-insurgency waged by Pakistan's army and the Taliban, who had overrun the area. | Part of the war-torn tribal frontier with Afghanistan, most of the population got up andleft in 2009 to avoid being caught in the counter-insurgency waged by Pakistan's army and the Taliban, who had overrun the area. |
| Barki spends his days shuttling 70 miles between the towns of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank where many, but not all, of South Waziristan's population are living as "IDPs", or internally displaced people. "I have to cover the equivalent of two and a half constituencies," he said. "There can be no doubt that it is going to be hard to get people to go out and vote." | Barki spends his days shuttling 70 miles between the towns of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank where many, but not all, of South Waziristan's population are living as "IDPs", or internally displaced people. "I have to cover the equivalent of two and a half constituencies," he said. "There can be no doubt that it is going to be hard to get people to go out and vote." |
| Polling stations are likely to be set up in Tank, which is closest to South Waziristan, but it risks disenfranchising IDPs who have moved even further afield. He has only spent a small amount of time actually campaigning in the small part of his constituency, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where the army has reasserted some control and a trickle of IDPs have returned. | Polling stations are likely to be set up in Tank, which is closest to South Waziristan, but it risks disenfranchising IDPs who have moved even further afield. He has only spent a small amount of time actually campaigning in the small part of his constituency, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where the army has reasserted some control and a trickle of IDPs have returned. |
| These are historic elections for the FATA, a region that has long been ruled under colonial-era laws, which until this election had banned political parties from operating. | These are historic elections for the FATA, a region that has long been ruled under colonial-era laws, which until this election had banned political parties from operating. |
| Despite this significant reform, local analysts and candidates think independents will continue to take most of the 12 seats that are up for grabs. | Despite this significant reform, local analysts and candidates think independents will continue to take most of the 12 seats that are up for grabs. |
| Some believe powerful vested interests, including the government-appointed "political agents" that rule the agencies, have no desire to see parties challenging their influence. | Some believe powerful vested interests, including the government-appointed "political agents" that rule the agencies, have no desire to see parties challenging their influence. |
| One candidate, a retired brigadier called Qayyum Sher, had long been associated with the Pakistan People's party. At a time when the Taliban has vowed to kill candidates connected to secular parties, including the PPP, he has opted to fight the election as an independent. "I am not an independent for security reasons, although there is a definite benefit to that – you do feel slightly safer," he said. "The real advantage is that if you have credibility then you get support from all parties, all people." | One candidate, a retired brigadier called Qayyum Sher, had long been associated with the Pakistan People's party. At a time when the Taliban has vowed to kill candidates connected to secular parties, including the PPP, he has opted to fight the election as an independent. "I am not an independent for security reasons, although there is a definite benefit to that – you do feel slightly safer," he said. "The real advantage is that if you have credibility then you get support from all parties, all people." |
| He says he is not too concerned about militants. The dominant group in South Waziristan is the Mullah Nazir group, which is thought to be broadly supportive of the Pakistani government. | He says he is not too concerned about militants. The dominant group in South Waziristan is the Mullah Nazir group, which is thought to be broadly supportive of the Pakistani government. |
| It has not issued threats against candidates in the same way that the Pakistani Taliban has done. Instead, it recently gave helpful advice to the campaigns about where best to safely hold rallies at a meeting where "tea and biscuits" were reportedly served. | It has not issued threats against candidates in the same way that the Pakistani Taliban has done. Instead, it recently gave helpful advice to the campaigns about where best to safely hold rallies at a meeting where "tea and biscuits" were reportedly served. |
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