Pashtun nationalist leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai leads on two national assembly seats NA-259 Quetta city and NA-262 Killa Abdullah-Chaman.

According to initial results coming out of polling stations in Quetta city, Mehmood Achakzai seems to be in a better position than his arch rival Jamiatul Ulema-i-Islam (F).

JUI-F candidate Senator Hafiz Hamdullah is lagging behind Achakzai in terms of getting votes. Achakzai's criticism of Hazara and Punjabi's being killed by militants attracted more votes in his favor.

Most of the settlers voted for Achazkai rather than clergymen. Achakzai has also recieved more votes as compared to JUI-F candidate Qari Sher Ali in his home town constituency Chaman-Killa Abdullah.

For the first time in the democratic history of Pakistan, an overwhelming majority of women in Pashtun dominated areas turned out to vote in the polling stations. Women used their votes independently in Pashtun dominated areas despite strictly veiled tribal culture.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...