Resolution for Hazara province: TSH activists threaten to block Karakoram Highway

Set April 12 deadline for adopting a consensus resolution for the province by the K-P assembly

ABBOTTABAD: Leaders of the Tehrik  Suba Hazara Party warned on Monday that they would block the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Abbottabad unless the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly adopts a consensus resolution on building a new Hazara province and sends it to the centre by April 12.

This was announced by Sardar Fida Hussain, the general secretary of TSH, during a news conference in Abbottabad on Monday.

Hussain warned that they would block the KKH near Fawara Chowk in the garrison city.

The TSH leader added that all mainstream political parties, both in the province and centre, had initially backed the call for creating a Hazara province, but had been shying away from fulfilling the province for the past seven years.

“All of them, including PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl, have repeatedly promised to respect the long-standing demands of the people [of Hazara] but they have failed to fulfil their promises,” he lamented, adding that these parties only served their own interests while ignoring the sacrifices made by people of the region.

Despite being the largest revenue-generating division of the country, he complained that Hazara remains neglected, forcing locals to press for their demand of a separate province.

Hussain also opposed the idea of gradually merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into K-P, terming it a ploy to deprive people in Hazara of their right to a province.

“Our demand is genuine and constitutional and we would never back down from this and will continue to struggle either till we die or our demand is accepted,” he added.

Reiterating his call for staging a blockade at Fawara Chowk till their demands are accepted, Hussain said that any resulting law and order would be the responsibility of both the provincial and the federal governments.

MNA Jamshed Dasti from Muzaffargarh and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA from DI Khan Dawar Kundi also addressed the news conference via telephone. They backed the call for a Hazara province and demanded that Fata and Seraiki provinces should also be created.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2017.