Religious Socialization and Voting Behaviour in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Religion is an important element in determining voting preferences in the Pakhtun society. It is playing a key role in making socio-political attitudes of the people. The findings of the study show that religious political parties’ political rhetoric successfully attracts a significant number of voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This rhetoric includes implementation of Sharia System/Islamic system of governance; Religious political parties as the defender of Islam; secular political parties as agents of Jews and Christians (Yahood-o-Nasara kay Aala-i-Kaar) and voting for religious political parties as the sacred duty of all the Muslims. A multi-stage probability sampling technique is use for data collection. Chi-square test is used for data analysis.