PESHAWAR: Demand for creating a separate Hazara province has not died down with the demise of its pioneer Baba Haider Zaman as the lawmakers of the ruling PTI and opposition’s PML-N from the region insist that the issue is still alive.

“MPAs representing Hazara region will take up the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan very soon,” said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, who belongs to Abbottabad.

He said that he and other MPAs had joined PTI in 2013 after the party pledged creation of Hazara province.

“Let me make it clear whenever South Punjab province is created, Hazara province will also emerge,” said Mr Ghani, who had won elections as an independent candidate in 2013 and later joined PTI with a promise about creation of Hazara province.

Baba Haider Zaman, who had launched the movement for Hazara province, passed away on October 24 last. He had launched the movement for a separate province when the erstwhile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the passage of 18th Amendment in 2010.

PA speaker says issue will be taken up with prime minister

The renaming of NWFP had sparked protests in Hazara division, mainly in Abbottabad, Haripur and Mansehra that left seven people dead while around 200 got injuries in clashes with police. PTI had capitalised on the issue of creation of separate province in 2013 general elections and consolidated its vote bank in Hazara that traditionally belonged to PML-N.

MPAs from Hazara including Mushtaq Ghani had moved a resolution in the provincial assembly in March 2014, demanding creation of Hazara province. The resolution was passed with majority, but it could not get two-third majority of the total members of the house.

Constitutionally, such resolution requires two-third votes to make it binding upon the government to implement it.

Linguistic division was very much visible in the assembly when the resolution for Hazara province was moved as the PTI lawmakers, except those belonging to Abbottabad, Haripur and Mansehra, were not in favour of division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on ethnic and linguistic grounds. PTI was enjoying simple majority in the provincial assembly in 2013 and had a coalition government.

Presently, PTI has 82 MPAs in the 124-member house and does not require support of any political party to pass resolution for creation of Hazara or any other province. The ruling party is enjoying two-third majority in the provincial assembly and can easily pass resolution in this regard.

PML-N, the staunch rival of PTI, is also in favour of creation of Hazara province. MPA Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha of PML-N said that his party had never backed out of the demand of Hazara province. He said that if PTI moved resolution for creation of Hazara province, PML-N would support it.

“PML-N has only six MPAs. Let the PTI table resolution for separate province and we (PML-N) will support it,” said Mr Nalotha.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Sultan Mohammad Khan said that the resolution passed in 2014 was not binding on the government as it lacked two-third majority. He said that PTI had the required number of votes in the provincial assembly to again pass such a resolution with two-third majority, but the party also required the same number of votes in National Assembly and Senate for making amendment to the Constitution.

“The previous resolution passed with simple majority is irrelevant. A fresh move I required to be passed with two-third majority,” said the minister. He expressed ignorance about any commitment of the party leadership with the MPAs from Hazara division.

PTI, which has coalition government in the centre, has presently focused on creation of South Punjab province. The party needs support of other political parties in upper and lower houses of the parliament for making South Punjab province.

Mushtaq Ghani is confident that the party would set up commission for creation of new administrative units including Hazara province. “Making new administrative units is essential and people of Hazara voted for PTI to create Hazara province,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018