The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling for amendments to the Constitution to create a separate Hazara province.
The joint resolution, tabled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PI) MPA Nazir Ahmad Abbassi, was co-signed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Ahmad Karim Kundi, as well as MPAs Sardar Mohammad Riaz, Iftikhar Jadoon, Ikram Ghazi and Sajjadullah. It urges the provincial government to undertake the consultative process and fulfil all requirements necessary for establishing basic infrastructure for the proposed province.
“Keeping in view the historical and cultural identity, administrative requirements, proper representation, and longstanding demand of the people of Hazara, the federal government, under Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan, should initiate the constitutional process for the creation of Hazara province,” it reads. It states the KP government should complete all prerequisites so that the people of Hazara may obtain their separate province. It also seeks arrangements for the infrastructure, jurisdiction, and administrative structure of the new province, as well as recommendations to relevant forums to avoid any constitutional hurdles in its formation.
This marks the third time the KP Assembly has passed a resolution in favor of Hazara province. The first one was passed on March 21, 2014, with a second on Jan. 4, 2022, reaffirming support for the 2014 resolution.