MANSEHRA: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousaf said on Sunday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government was taking the creation of more federating units as an important issue and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would soon convene a meeting of his cabinet in this regard.

“I called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discussed the creation of more federating units, with Hazara province as a priority. He would soon convene the meeting of the federal cabinet to discuss this important issue, which is being debated everywhere, including in the power corridors, nowadays,” he said while talking to reporters here.

Mr Yousaf said that an important meeting of the Supreme Council of the Subah Hazara Tehreek, which he leads as chairman, was held over the weekend, where a unanimously adopted resolution demanded that the federal government grant Hazara division the status of a separate federating unit of the country.

“We want Hazara province to be at the top of the list of proposed federating units in the country, as the people of this division have laid down their lives for this cause for the first time in the history of the country,” he said.

The federal minister said that according to a carefully finalised estimate, if Hazara province was created, it would have a share of over Rs250 billion in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and generate annual revenue of more than Rs400 billion.

He said that people belonging to almost all political and religious parties in the country were part and parcel of the Hazara province movement. The Supreme Council had representation from the PML-N, PPP, PTI, JUI-F, JI and other political parties and movements, he claimed.

“Hazara province is the only proposed federating unit in the country for which the provincial assembly has twice passed resolutions overwhelmingly in its favour,” Mr Yousaf said.

SPORTS FESTIVAL: Centuries-old traditional Kabaddi competitions featuring teams from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attracted a large crowd here.

“Although the young generation is spending much of its precious time on social media, holding such major Kabaddi competitions is a great achievement. Such festivities should continue for years to come,” former MNA Salah Mohammad Khan told a gathering at the New Balakot City Ground here.

People from different parts of Hazara and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa turned up in large numbers for the traditional sporting events organised in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

The spectators showed great interest in the Kabaddi and weightlifting events, which, according to them, were no longer major attractions at sporting events held from time to time in Mansehra and other parts of Hazara division.

“Once, Kabaddi competitions were a major feature of Eid and other festivities, but they are no longer popular and should be revived as an integral part of our culture,” Mr Salah said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026