PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution calling for amendments to the Constitution for the creation of a separate Hazara province.
The resolution asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to undertake the consultative process and fulfill all requirements necessary for establishing basic infrastructure for the proposed province.
The joint resolution was tabled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Nazir Ahmad Abbassi and was co-signed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Ahmad Karim Kundi, and MPAs Sardar Mohammad Riaz, Iftikhar Jadoon, Ikram Ghazi and Sajjadullah.
“Keeping in view the historical and cultural identity, administrative requirements, proper representation, and longstanding demand of the people of Hazara, the federal government, under Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan, should initiate the constitutional process for the creation of Hazara province,” the resolution stated.
It added that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should complete all prerequisites so that the people of Hazara may obtain their separate province. The resolution asked the provincial government to make arrangements for the infrastructure, jurisdiction, and administrative structure of the new province and present recommendations to the relevant forums to avoid any constitutional hurdles in its formation.
It is worth mentioning that this is the third time the KP Assembly has passed a resolution in favour of Hazara province. The first one was passed on March 21, 2014, and the second on January 4, 2022, reaffirming support for the 2014 resolution.
Chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, the provincial assembly also passed several other resolutions, including one by PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi to declare former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as a “Shaheed” in the official record.
“Keeping in view the political and social services of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for a stable, democratic and prosperous Pakistan, he should be declared as Shaheed at the official level,” Kundi’s resolution stated. It was passed unanimously.
ANP’s Nisar Mohammad Baz, through another resolution, urged the provincial government to curtail the powers of deputy commissioners under 3MPO and 16MPO, which he said were often used against political workers for arrests and harassment. He demanded the withdrawal of what he termed “fake FIRs” against political workers and an end to political victimization by district administrations and police officials.
In another resolution, the ANP lawmaker said the Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar had been upgraded to the status of a medical university by previous provincial governments, including that of former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, but that the relevant forum had yet to formally grant it university status.
He claimed that Punjab had six medical universities and Sindh had three, but KMC had still not been accorded university status. The assembly also passed resolutions calling for an increase in the purchasing quota of tobacco from growers in the tobacco-producing regions of the province.
PMLN MPA Amna Sardar moved a resolution demanding the repair and reconstruction of main roads in Abbottabad and Galiyat that were damaged during recent rains and floods. Members from both the treasury and opposition benches raised concerns about the province’s share in the upcoming NFC Award, saying KP had long been deprived of its due share, particularly following the merger of the former tribal districts.
Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Meena Khan Afridi, concluding the debate on the NFC Award, said Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi would forcefully present the province’s case in the upcoming NFC meeting. He said the militancy-hit province had not received its due share for the past decade.
“Under the last NFC Award, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share in national resources was 14.62 percent, which increased to 19.4 percent after the merger of tribal areas in 2018,” he said, adding that KP had not received its rightful share as the frontline province in the war against terror.
The minister said the PTI government would take all political parties on board regarding provincial rights and resources, and a consultative session would be held with former chief ministers and finance ministers to ensure KP secures its due financial share.
PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi, ANP’s Arbab Usman and Nisar Mohammad Baz, Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf, PMLN’s Amna Sardar, Abdul Karim Khan, Munir Hussain Laghmani, Daud Shah, Ajab Gul, Muhammad Sajjad from the ruling party, and others also took part in the debate on the NFC Award. The legislators vowed to support the provincial government in its efforts to secure KP’s constitutional rights and rightful share in national resources.
