Zafarullah Khan Jamali is one of the politicians who have been around the block — from the PPP, the party with which he started his political career in the 1970s, to Gen Ziaul Haq’s government, the Pakistan Muslim League and later the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and the PML-Functional, he’s seen them all. For the upcoming polls, he’s contesting as an independent candidate.

Those who have been following the career of this nomadic politician from the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan have conflicting opinions about his frequent shifts in loyalties. While some argue that Jamali is a free spirit who follows his impulse, joining and leaving parties as they please or offend him, others say that in the given political culture, parties select candidates and not the other way around.

Having a fairly secure constituency or a ‘family seat’, and some influence over a few other seats, makes Jamali an eligible politician to have on board. In a relatively small provincial assembly, even three or four seats count for a lot, it is argued, making Jamali an ‘influential’ Baloch politician. As a parliamentarian, he has held important posts such as that of home minister as well as that of minister of parliamentary affairs, information and food.

Most famously, of course, Jamali was briefly the prime minister in retired Gen Pervez Musharraf’s government. The reason why he was selected for the top post twice (once as caretaker) could be as simple as the fact that he is Baloch. It helps to have a prime minister from the troubled province and it also helps that he has a reputation for being ‘pro-establishment’ as well as a religious, simple and humble person. (People who have met the former prime minister always mention his ‘humility’.) And in addition to being prime minister of Pakistan twice, Jamali has been twice chief minister as well (again, once caretaker).

But part of the enigma that is Jamali is that while he has often been elected and selected to important posts, he hasn’t been able to hold on to them for very long. His longest stint in power (other than as MPA) was when he was elected prime minister in Gen Musharraf’s government in November 2002. A year and a half later, in June 2004, he resigned to make way, it is said, for the man Musharraf wanted to bring in, Shaukat Aziz. Given his track record, there are those who feel Jamali is better suited to running the show from behind stage rather than leading from the front.

But even this influence might be diminishing a bit now, says a Quetta-based journalist. While Zafarullah Jamali is still a big name in his area, in-fighting among the younger generation of the Jamali family for political power is weakening his grip over their traditional strongholds. “Earlier, people used to sit together and decide about the candidates they want to field, and so on,” says the journalist. “Now, the younger generation is not listening.” In his opinion, while Jamali is still likely to win the ‘family seat’ (NA-266), his son Fareedullah Jamali’s victory from the same seat is by no means given.

What have Jamali’s fortunes meant for the people of Jaffarabad other than jobs and perks that come from being a part of the prime minister’s constituency? Not much, it seems. Jaffarabad suffers from the lack of a substantial medical and educational infrastructure, poor sanitation and poverty. Construction on a bypass that started during his tenure as prime minister was never completed and the recent floods further damaged the area’s infrastructure, including the house in which Jamali lives.