CM to decide location of new Abaseen division HQ

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan will now decide about the location of the new Abaseen division headquarters as the committee established for the purpose failed to reach a consensus over it.

The provincial government announced establishment of another division by dividing the large Hazara Division into two smaller ones. However, the move has created serious differences among the local elders and public representatives.

The committee, headed by the Hazara Division commissioner, had been tasked with meeting the general public and their representatives to resolve the issue of the location of divisional headquarters of the new division along with other issues. It held several rounds of negotiations with local elders and public representatives but failed to reach a consensus.

“No one is willing to budge from his opinion and established position so the issue will now be sent to the CM for a final decision,” an official said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Reliable sources told The Express Tribune that four districts including Upper and Lower Kohistan, Kolai Palas and Shangla have agreed to declare Bisham their divisional headquarters but district Batagram is opposing it, saying that it should be the new headquarters instead. There are a total of seven districts in the new division.

“Kohistan and Shangla districts have warned that if Bisham is not declared district headquarters then they would opt for status quo,” said the official.

The provincial chief minister already approved the creation of a new and eighth division which would be known as the Abaseen division and Kohistan Upper and Lower, Kolai Palas, Shangla, Batagram as well as the newly created districts Alai and Torghar will be part of it.

“There will be seven districts in the new division and four districts have already expressed their willingness on Bisham as the location for the divisional headquarters. A fifth district Torghar is also willing to accept it but Batagram is opposing it,” the official said.

“Batagram will be split into two districts Alai and Batagram and its people want it to be the location of the divisional headquarters. The representatives of the three districts of old Kohistan have warned that they would like to be part of the Hazara Division if Bisham is not declared the divisional headquarters. The headquarters of Hazara Division is Abbottabad,” he informed, adding that the representatives of the Shangla district have made it clear that in case Bisham is not made the divisional headquarters then they would like to remain part of the Malakand Division, further complicating the matters.

The administration of Batagram district is trying its level best to make Batagram the headquarters of the new division.

After the creation of the new Abaseen division, only Abbottabad, Haripur and Manshera would be part of the Hazara Division. There are suggestions that the Manshera district should also be split into two districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2022.