Pashtuns, who make up 25 percent of Karachi’s population – the second largest ethnic group in the city after Muhajirs – may tilt the tide in the favour any political party in the upcoming elections. A sizeable portion of Karachi’s Pashtun population is settled in the Sohrab Goth, Qiaidaabad, Manghopir and District West. In Karachi, the Pakhtun vote bank is predominantly divided within religious parties but many of the community members vote for national mainstream parties including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Majlis e Amal (MMA). Meanwhile, a small slice of the community is also inclined towards Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP). Even though members of the Pakhtun community are participating in the upcoming elections from several political parties, Awami National Party (ANP) which is the largest Pashtun party in Pakistan, has fielded 11 candidates for the National Assembly and 27 candidates for the provincial seats in Karachi. Capitalizing on its Pashtun voter base, the party has fielded candidates in Pashtun dominated constituencies. However, ANP Sindh which became a parliamentary party after it won two provincial assembly seats from Karachi in the 2008 general elections cannot yet claim that it represents all the Pashtuns of Karachi. After winning the seats, ANP became a part of the then PPP-led coalition government and its leader Shahi Syed emerged as one of the most important stakeholders in the city’s politics. Now, Awami National Party’s (ANP) leader Shahi Syed who is banking on the Pashtun vote bank hopes to win a seat from NA-250. Syed knows that the Pashtuns ghetto is in Sohrab Goth but he is contesting from District West instead. District West is more advantageous to the ANP leader compared to Sohrab Goth because it has a considerable Pashtun vote bank and unlike Sohrab Goth, it does not host migrant voters. Daily Times learnt that ANP’s Shahi Syed has the support of many political parties including PML-N, MQM-P and some dissenting PTI leaders. Out of these parties, the PML-N has already done seat adjustment with ANP in NA-249. Shahi Syed will be contesting against Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s (MMA) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who also has a good reputation in the Pashtun dominated constituency. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman who is representing both MMA and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is expected to give Shahi Syed a tough time in the upcoming polls. MMA is also fielding Qari Muhammad Usman for PS-114 and Abdur Razzaq from PS-120 who are considered well-reputed personalities in the area. MMA candidate for PS-120 obtained the second highest number of votes in the last elections. Meanwhile, PTI’s District West President Subhan Ali Sahil is not supporting the PTI because he was not awarded a ticket from the constituency. Issues: Before 2013, the primary concern of the residents of Karachi was security, which is what political candidates pegged their campaigns on but now, it is water. “The core issues are access to clean drinking water, CNIC issuance, civic issues and electricity-related problems,” stated a voter. According to political pundits ANP’s position in Karachi has been weakened owing to the poor performance of ANP’s two lawmakers elected in the 2008 elections, crevices within the party and involvement of its cadres in violence and criminal activities. Experts opine that this has provided room to other parties, especially the PTI and the JI to move in. “Even the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) exploited the vacuum in the Pashtun localities across the metropolis,” says an expert. Voters of the area say that he main agenda of the ANP was to eliminate corruption and terrorism from the country but ANP’s key-workers were corrupt and maintained ties with the drug mafia. Some of the most pressing issues in Karachi’s Pashtun dominated areas include load-shedding, dilapidated roads, poor sewerage system, dysfunctional street lights, rising street crime, increasing population of stray dogs and the sale of drugs. Published in Daily Times, July 24th 2018.