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Anchor Marco Werman checks in with Inayatulhaq Yasini, host of the BBC’s Pashto-language radio show “Your Voice,” to find out what his Afghan listeners are talking about as the presidential run-off election draws near.

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MARCO WERMAN:   Afghanistan’s embattled President Hamid Karzai belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group.  So do about 40 percent of the country’s people.  If you want to reach that major population block in Afghanistan, you have to do it in their language, Pashto.   Inayatulhaq Yasini hosts the BBC’s Pashto-language radio program “Your Voice.”  He says the weekly call-in is not just heard in Afghanistan.

INAYATULHAQ YASINI:  The issue is for all of the Pashtun living in different parts of the world, particularly our target is Durand Line.  Durand Line is the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.  So most of them are listening to this program.

WERMAN:  Right, and what is exactly the demographic of Pashto speakers in Afghanistan?  How many people are there?

YASINI:  Pashto speakers are mostly in the south, and some northern provinces.

WERMAN:  And numbers, do you know how many people speak it?

YASINI:  I would not be able to give you the exact number now, because of war and the infighting in Afghanistan, people spread all over the world, particularly millions of them are living in Pakistan, Iran, and they have migrated to Europe, America, as well.

WERMAN:  So Inayatulhaq, tell us what’s on your callers’ minds today.  I imagine the phone lines are getting increasingly busy every day.

YASINI:  Yes, sir, yes.  Today’s show was regarding how much people are prepared to vote for the second round.  The first round was not popular, as far as the voting percentage is concerned.  And now people, I saw very enthusiasm from the side of the people.  Even there were people calling us that, “I didn’t vote in the first round, in the first part of the election, but now I will vote.”

WERMAN:  Right, and they’re saying, “Now I will vote in the second round.”  Are they saying that as a way of kind of protesting what happened in the first round?  Do they really see suddenly they have a stake in the future of their nation?

YASINI:  Different reasons.  Ethnicity plays a role here.  The people who are calling us, they were calling on other Pashtuns or Afghan to come to vote and decide about their future.

WERMAN:  Right, and with a few minor nuances, it seems that the Pashto speaking population has up until now mostly supported President Hamid Karzai.  What are you hearing from some of your listeners, from people calling in, about whether they are still behind Karzai?

YASINI:  Yes, as I mentioned, the ethnicity card is very important in this election, it seems.  A lot of people not expressing it openly, because using the card of ethnicity is considered– it is a taboo if somebody uses it.  But practically it happens.  If you compare the people who have called us, most of them were supporting.  They’re saying that if Karzai comes to power, it will be in their benefit.

WERMAN:  Well, we actually have some tape of a call made by one of your listeners who’s not too happy with either candidate, not Hamid Karzai nor Abdullah Abdullah.  Let’s hear that.

RADIO CALLER:  [speaking Pashto]

INTERPRETER:  My opinion is that these two candidates, Karzai and Abdullah, both of them have done a lot of fraud, and because of that, they should be punished and banned from the election.

WERMAN:  So, Inayatulhaq Yasini, I mean, is that opinion typical of what you’re hearing from your callers?

YASINI:  Yes, it seemed that people, it is my own personal observation as probably the percentage of people will be higher than the first round.  We had 5 million, 1 million was declared fraudulent, 4 million left.  I think this time, at least it should be double the number.  The enthusiasm I saw, I couldn’t manage to accommodate all the callers, emails yesterday.  When I was announcing, just in minutes, I was receiving emails and responses.

WERMAN:  I’d like to know what people are saying about the fraud allegations from the August 20^th election.  I mean, the results were thrown out because of fraud.  So many allegations came in of fraud during the counting of ballots.  Do your listeners accept that fraud happened, or are they still questioning whether it even took place?

YASINI:  No, there were different opinions.  Some of them were saying that Karzai won the election despite these claims, because they were saying the claims of fraud were not correct, and that was baseless.  Even before the elections, the opposition was claiming there will be fraud.  So they are saying that Karzai has won it, but for the sake of national unity, Karzai accepted that he has not secured the required percentage.

WERMAN:  Inayatulhaq Yasini, the host of the BBC’s Pashto-language radio show, “Your Voice,” thank you very much for talking with us.

YASINI:  You’re welcome.

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