Considerations of clan play a vital role in determining the outcome of elections in Dera Ismail Khan division, which comprises Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts. The area has two National Assembly constituencies, NA-24 (Dera Ismail Khan district) and NA-25 (Kulachi and Daraban tehsils, part of Paharpur tehsil and Tank district). It has five seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (PK-64 to PK-68). Election dynamics tend to bank on personal relationships; local clans such as the Kundis, the Miankhels, the Bhettanis, the Gandapurs and the Alizais have always dominated the political scene. Nevertheless, political affiliations also count towards electoral success.

Both the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have a sizable vote bank in Dera Ismail Khan division.

In 1977, PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto contested the elections from here but lost to JUI-F founder Maulana Mufti Mehmood by a slim margin. After the latter’s death his elder son, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, became chief of the party and has been contesting elections from here since 1988.

In the 1997 general elections, he suffered defeat at the hands of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Omar Farooq Miankhel. The PPP had not fielded a candidate for the seat to give an edge to Maulana Fazl, but he nevertheless lost the elections since Omar Farooq had the ensured vote of his Miankhel clan.

The constituency was the focus of much attention in 1997 when the well-known Pashto film actress Musarrat Shaheen announced that she would be contesting against Maulana Fazl. She has also filed nominations to contest the polls against him on NA-24 in the coming general elections, but has yet to launch her campaign owing to security reasons.

Observers say that in Dera Ismail Khan division, those parties and clans perform well during elections that field strong candidates for the provincial assembly that complement their like-minded contestants for the National Assembly.

In the 2002 general elections, Mazhar Jamil Alizai of the PPP won PK-64, while Hafeezullah Khan Alizai was returned to the provincial assembly as an independent candidate from PK-65. Former chief minister Sardar Inayatullah Khan Gandapur won PK-66 and PK-67 as an independent candidate, while Syed Murid Kazim of the PPP-Sherpao proved victorious on PK-68. An independent candidate, Tahir Bin Yamin, won the Tank seat (PK-69).

In terms of the national seats, Maulana Fazl won both NA-24 and NA-25 in the 2002 elections. But the results were reversed in 2008 when Maulana Fazl by a wide margin lost to Faisal Karim Kundi of the PPP on NA-24. The maulana was elected to the National Assembly from Bannu, while the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s Maulana Attaur Rehman won NA-25 by defeating PML-Q’s Habibullah Kundi and the PPP’s Dawar Khan Kundi. According to some observers, Maulana Atta won the elections because the Kundi tribe had two candidates which divided its vote bank.

This time, Habib Kundi and Dawar Kundi have buried the hatchet far ahead of the general elections to keep the clan’s vote bank intact — but Faisal Karim Kundi has jumped into the fray and filed nominations to contest the elections on a PPP ticket against Dawar Kundi, fighting on behalf of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. This, many believe, will sharply divide the Kundis’ vote bank, which will benefit Maulana Fazlur Rehman on NA-25. The maulana is also contesting the elections from NA-24 and NA-27 (Lakki Marwat).

In the 2008 general elections, PK-64 was secured by independent candidate Khalifa Abdul Qayyum, while PK-65 went to Latifullah Khan Alizai. Sardar Sanaullah Khan Miankhel secured PK-66 and the PPP-Sherpao’s Sardar Israrullah Khan Gandapur won PK-67. Independent candidate Syed Murid Kazim was winner in PK-68, and the Tank seat (PK-69) went to Gulistan Khan of the MMA.

This time around, a tough contest is expected among the PPP’s Waqar Ahmad Khan, the JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the PTI’s Mustafa Kundi, the PML-N’s Rehan Malik, Muttahida Deeni Mahaz candidate Khalifa Abdul Qayyum and the Muttahida Quami Movement’s Junaid Tariq Qureshi. A similar contest is likely on NA-25 among PML-N candidate Mohammad Yousaf Shah, the PPP’s Faisal Karim Kundi, the PTI’s Dawar Khan Kundi and Maulana Fazl.