21 July 2019 (Daily Dawn)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s merged tribal districts made history as they held general elections for the first time on Saturday.
Polling was held for 16 general seats of the provincial assembly.
The Election Commission of Pakistan had set up 1,897 polling stations across the region, previously called Fata. Of them, 554 had been declared highly sensitive and 461 sensitive.
Polling took place from 8am to 5pm with a fairly large voter participation, including women.
Zabit Khan Afridi, a college student, was among the voters who lined up outside a polling station in Khyber district near the provincial capital, Peshawar.
“I am glad to cast my first ever vote on a historic day for tribal people... I believe the fate of tribal people is changing,” Afridi said.
Tribesmen line up to cast their vote outside a polling station for the first provincial elections in Jamrud, a town of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 20, 2019. - Pakistan's tribal areas held their first ever provincial elections on July 20 amid high security, a key step bringing the northwestern region into the political mainstream after years of turmoil fuelled by militancy. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED / AFP)
A Pakistani tribesman cast his vote during an election for provincial seats in Jamrud, a town of Khyber district, Pakistan, Saturday, July 20, 2019. Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas are holding their first-ever provincial elections. The seven tribal areas were merged last year as tribal districts into the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Before that, the tribal areas were federally administered, and residents could only vote in the national assembly. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Tribesmen line up to cast their vote outside a polling station for the first provincial elections in Jamrud, a town of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 20, 2019. - Pakistan's tribal areas held their first ever provincial elections on July 20 amid high security, a key step bringing the northwestern region into the political mainstream after years of turmoil fuelled by militancy. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED / AFP)
A tribesman casts his vote while others waiting their turn during an election for provincial seats in Jamrud, a town of Khyber district, Pakistan, Saturday, July 20, 2019. Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas are holding their first-ever provincial elections. The seven tribal areas were merged last year as tribal districts into the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Before that, the tribal areas were federally administered, and residents could only vote in the national assembly. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Tribesmen line up to cast their vote outside a polling station for the first provincial elections in Jamrud, a town of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 20, 2019. - Pakistan's tribal areas held their first ever provincial elections on July 20 amid high security, a key step bringing the northwestern region into the political mainstream after years of turmoil fuelled by militancy. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED / AFP)
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