QUETTA: A faction of the Pashtoonkhwah Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) has demanded the formation of a new province from Bolan district in Balochistan to Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The faction was formed on Dec 27 by the dissidents who were sacked from PkMAP by Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai.

The group headed by Khushal Khan Kakar adopted a resolution during the meeting of the party’s fifth national congress on Saturday to establish the province and seek rights over natural resources.

The resolution also demanded Pashto be declared the official language and medium of teaching in the proposed Pashtoonkhwah province.

The meeting, which was held in Quetta, adopted various resolutions, including one demanding a judicial commission to probe into the murder of ex-senator Usman Khan Kakar.

Supreme Court Judge Qazi Faiz Isa should head the commission to identify the killers and award them “exemplary sentences,” the resolution demanded.

The meeting also sought constitutional guarantees regarding the supremacy of the parliament, equal rights for all nationalities, including Baloch, Pakhtoon, Punjabi, Sindhi and Siraiki and their equal representation in all federal government institutions including the army.

Through a resolution, the meeting appealed to the UN Security Council and other countries to play their role in restoring the Constitution of Afghanistan through Loya Jirga and pave way for the holding of free and fair elections to form a democratic government.

The meeting also demanded international organisations take notice of the violation of human rights in Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023