Minister urges creation of Hazara province

ISLAMABAD:

Minister for Religious Affairs and Hazara Province Movement Chairman Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Sunday called for the creation of Hazara province without further delay, saying the region's case had already been taken up by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and the National Assembly.

Addressing a large Hazara province convention, Yousaf said the demand for a separate province was based on administrative grounds and that the movement was now focused on parliamentary and constitutional forums.

"The Hazara province movement is strong and its case is ready," he said, adding that resolutions in favour of the province had been passed three times by the provincial assembly.

Yousaf said the demand had received support from political leadership and claimed that the military leadership had also expressed support for the creation of new provinces.

He said bills seeking the creation of Hazara province had been introduced in the National Assembly in 2019 by both opposition and government members.

"The matter is now inside the assemblies," he said, urging lawmakers to take steps for the creation of the province.

Yousaf noted that bringing administrative services closer to the people was essential for improving access to government and public facilities. Delays in matters concerning public welfare, he added, could create frustration and disappointment among citizens.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Talha Mahmood said Haripur would be the economic backbone of a future Hazara province and rejected concerns about the availability of resources.

He claimed that the region had sufficient resources to meet its requirements and contribute to the national economy.

He also linked unemployment and lack of opportunities with frustration among young people and called for reforms in the existing system. Former minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi said the people of Hazara would not accept the creation of new provinces without Hazara being included.

He said representatives of the region had already raised the issue in parliament.

Former chief minister Pir Sabir Shah said the people of Hazara were united in support of the demand, while Jamaat-i-Islami Hazara leader Abdul Razzaq Abbasi said his party fully supported the creation of a separate province.