Malakand politician demands new ‘Udyana province’

SWAT: The  people of the north-western region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have demanded a separate province claiming that their population is more than that of Balochistan’s.

“Malakand division’s population is over 800,000 which is more than the populations of the Northern Areas and Balochistan,” Pakistan Awami Party chief Fanoos Gujjar claimed in a news conference at the Swat Press Club on Sunday.

“The people of Malkand division have rendered great sacrifices for the solidarity of Pakistan.

But, in return, they are being denied their rights and valuable natural resources of the region are being wasted,” he said referring to the sufferings of the local people in the recent military operation against radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah who had led a bloody rebellion in the region.

Gujjar said Malakand division has been bestowed with plenty of natural resources, including precious stones and thick forests. “But these resources are not being tapped properly. And the result is that the region lags behind the rest of the country in terms of development,” he added.

Gujjar said that fruits and vegetables grown in Malakand were supplied to every nook and corner of the country. But for some strange reasons some politicians were creating hurdles in the way of Malakand’s development and in bringing it at par with the rest of the country.

He complained that the incumbent rulers did nothing for Malakand. And a sense of deprivation has taken roots among the local people. “The ruling ANP and PPP have secretly sold out thousands of tons of wheat meant for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the recent military operation in Malakand division,” he alleged.

“The educated and skilled people of Malakand are being ignored in government jobs. In short, injustices are being done to Malakand in every sector which must be stopped immediately,” Gujjar said.

He also predicted that several new provinces would emerge before the upcoming general elections. “Therefore, the government should also accept our demand for a new province to be named Udyana province,” he demanded.

Published in The Express Tribune June 21^st, 2010.