Daily Times

The issue of new provinces is yet to be settled. The political instability we are facing cannot eclipse the issue for much longer; the smaller nationalities of Pakistan raise their demand for new provinces every now and then. Every time the Seraikis of southern Punjab or Bahawalpuris of Bahawalpur raise their demand, the Hazaras of Hazara division also renew their demand of a separate province and try to build a case in their favour. With the passage of two separate resolutions by the Punjab Assembly for two new provinces, South Punjab and Bahawalpur, to be carved out of Punjab, the demands of the said communities are addressed to a large part. It is ironic that the Hazaras of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) tend to use the creation of other provinces as a justification of their demand and stage demonstrations in major cities to get the support of political parties and the sympathies of the masses. But the creation of South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces (which have become a matter of time) or for that matter, any other province, should not in any way serve to justify the creation of a Hazara province. Instead of being based on genuine grievances or real administrative difficulties, its demand is a byproduct of the PML-N and PML-Q’s fight for Hazara division.

For decades Nawaz Sharif, in the style of a regional leader, had been promising a separate province to the Hindko-speaking Hazaras with the condition that the then NWFP be renamed. His purposes were two: first, to win over the electorate of Hazara division and second, to create potential hurdles for the renaming of NWFP, which was the uncompromising demand of Pakhtun nationalists. Owing to this strategy, he enjoyed all-out support of the Hazaras for quite a long time. In retrospect, it seems that he had never thought that the NWFP would ever be renamed, costing him the electorate.

The PML-Q was waiting for an opportune time to replace the PML-N in the region, which came with the 18th amendment passed by the National Assembly on April 8, 2010. Soon, the PML-Q launched an offensive and whipped up the Hazaras’ indignation against the PML-N, which resulted in setting on fire and ransacking the latter’s offices in the now comparatively unstable region. Hence, the movement for Hazara province took birth. Had the NWFP not been renamed and the two factions of the Muslim League not fought for electoral gains, the demand for a Hazara province would never have surfaced.

Being caught in their own traps, the two factions of the Muslim League (N and Q) now feel obliged to advocate a Hazara province with an utter disregard for national integration and ethnic harmony. On May 4, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly (who belongs to the PML-N) tabled a resolution calling for the creation of a Hazara province along with three others. PML-Q’s leader, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, also intends to present a similar resolution in the National Assembly.

The irony is that both the factions of the Muslim League are rejecting the creation of provinces on a linguistic basis (and understandably so) while openly supporting the demand for a Hazara province for which the only valid base can be language. Is not this a contradiction? Does it mean that contradictions are allowed when it comes to smaller nationalities? If both the factions’ implicit logic for a Hazara province is language, then why they do not campaign for the merger of the Pakhtun-inhabited districts of Balochistan and FATA with KP. Pakhtuns of both the regions aspire for their merger with KP.

Is there any valid administrative base for a Hazara province? My simple and plain answer is, no. Hazara is the eastern division of KP, consisting of Mansehra, Haripur and Abbottabad districts with Abbottabad as its headquarters. In June 2011, the ANP government established another division called Abaseen division consisting of Batgram, Kohistan (carved out of Hazara division) and Torgar districts (which was hitherto a tribal area). Abbottabad is 204 kilometres from Peshawar, which requires an approximate time of two hours and 32 minutes in a public vehicle to travel, while the southern districts of KP like Bannu (210 km from Peshawar), Lakki Marwat (207 km), D I Khan (303 km) and Tank (314 km) are comparatively further away from Peshawar but there is no movement for a separate province in these districts. If the PML-N and the PML-Q or any other party (the MQM or JUI-F), which also sometimes raise the issue of a Hazara province, believe that the creation of a Hazara province is administratively justified, they should press for the creation of a province on every circle of 204 km diameter. Go on this criterion and you have almost three dozen provinces. Can our economy sustain that much expenditure, I ask the supporters of the Hazara province?

Till yesterday, the same PML-N was resisting provincial status to southern Punjab, whose every major city is farther than 204 km from Lahore. For instance, Rawalpindi is at 375 km distance from Lahore, Attock at 425 and Chakwal at 271. On the similar administrative basis would PML-N call for another province in Punjab that Makhdoom Javed Hashmi would name as Potohar province? Speaking administratively, Hazara is right under the belly of Peshawar from where it can be controlled effectively.

As far as political power sharing is concerned, the present day KP has been ruled twice by persons who hailed from Hazara division — Abdul Qayyum Khan in the 1950s and Sardar Mehtab Khan Abassi from 1997 to 1999. Hazaras have always enjoyed an equitable power share in the province.

The reason for the proponents of a Hazara province not to cite any reason in favour of their demand is that there is no reason at all. Who would agree with me that the only possible reason is an ethnic grudge inculcated in their minds by others, which should be condemned by every loyal Pakistani? That renaming of a province brought geographical changes that created administrative problems is simply incomprehensible.

It should no more remain in doubt that the Hazara province issue is an election stunt, which should be ignored for the last time. Instead of wasting our energy on a non-issue, we should focus on other problems like corruption, bad governance and power shortage, which are seriously inflicting Pakistan. Our political parties should act responsibly as their role is set to be scrutinised in the coming elections, especially by those communities that are becoming victims of their policies.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at khetranazk@gmail.com