Polls have closed in Pakistan's first-ever provincial elections in the northwestern tribal areas, a region along the Afghan border that was once controlled by Islamist militant groups.
First results are not expected for several hours.
Nearly 3 million people are eligible to vote in the provincial assembly elections on July 20, which opened at 8 a.m. local time amid heightened security measures, including the deployment of thousands of policemen and army soldiers in the region.
There was no official announcement on the turnout. But local media showed images of long queues of people waiting for their turns at polling stations.
The seven tribal districts were merged last year into the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Previously, residents could only vote in the national assembly polls.
RFE/RL correspondents report from the region that many women, most of them clad in the traditional burqas, have come out to use their right to vote in this most conservative Pashtun region.
Sohail Khan, a spokesman for the provincial election body, said 285 candidates, including two women -- Naheed Afridi and Malasa Bibi -- are running for 16 seats.
Naheed Afrid is fielded by the secular Awami National Party (ANP), while Malasa Bibi is representing the religious Jamat-e Islami (JI) party.
Pakistan claims to have cleared the tribal areas of militants in a series of military operations in recent years, but the region still faces occasional attacks.
Election commission spokesman Altaf Khan said army troops had been deployed at all 1,897 polling stations.
