Taliban are now resorting to targeted killings of individual political leaders

It will not affect the people or democracy because the turnout was 55% in 2013, compared to 44% in 2008, which means the people want democracy at any price," Dr. Adnan Khan, a Peshawar-based political analyst and a University of Peshawar professor, said.

The Taliban can only "temporarily suspend an election" or the democratic process, Khan said, adding that "if they kill an elected representative, the electorates remain unrepresented in the assembly until the by-election, which elects a new man."

But the people are politically committed to the core and will continue to support the political process, he said.
Militant assassinations disenfranchise voters

Still, some are concerned that the assassinations are robbing the people of their voice in the political process and are fanning the flames of hatred against the militants.

Unidentified attackers shot and killed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Provincial Assembly Member (MPA) Farid Khan and his driver in Hangu District June 3, disenfranchising more than 16,000 voters.

"Khan received a majority of the vote because of his plan to establish peace in the area. …We are deeply moved by his killing, which amounts to the deaths of his voters," Syed Munir, a former union councillor in Shergarh, told Central Asia Online.