Hazara Province Movement

Hazara Province Movement (Urdu/Hindko: تحریک صوبہ ہزارہ) is a movement aimed at creating the Hazara Province in the Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[1]

Map of the constituent parts of the Hazara Division of Pakistan

History of the movement

This movement began in 1957, when regional lawyers Mufti Idrees and Abdul Khaliq first raised the question of a separate province, Kohistan.[2] In 1987, Hazara Qaumi Mahaz (HQM) was founded by Muhammad Asif Malik advocate , a prominent advocate who campaigned for the creation of a separate province.[3]

2010 protests

The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed on the 8th of April 2010, which among other changes, renamed the North-West Frontier Province to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The name change of the province was met with strong opposition from the people of Hazara and protests erupted in the region with wheel and shutter jam strikes. Abbottabad became the nerve center of the movement. On the 10th of April, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police fired at unarmed protesters, leaving 7 dead and dozens injured.[4] Allegedly, the firing was ordered by the coalition government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, led by the Awami National Party.[5] This is one of the earliest incidents of police brutality in Pakistan in recent years, occurring before the Model Town Lahore incident, whose FIR has not been registered still today.[6]

Later developments

In 2014, the resolution for the creation of the Hazara Province was adopted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.[7] The movement slowed down and shrunk to only observing the 12th of April martyrs anniversary, the death of the movement's pioneer, Baba Haider Zaman, in 2018.[8]

In 2020, the movement started again when the government began work for the creation of the South Punjab province.[9] Hazara's leaders sought to include the creation of the Hazara Province along with it.[10] A bill for the creation of the Hazara province has also been tabled in the Parliament of Pakistan.[11]

Notable leaders

See also

References
  1. Shaheen, Sikander (8 July 2010). "'Welcome to Hazara province'". The Nation. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  2. Orakzai, Rifatullah (16 April 2010). "آخر ہم ہیں کون؟". BBC Urdu. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  3. Munir, Mohammad (2017). "Realities of a Separate Hazara Province". Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. "Seven killed in Abbottabad violence". Dawn.com. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  5. Shaheen, Sikander (14 April 2010). "Complete strike observed in Hazara Division". The Nation. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  6. "Abbottabad firing incident: Tehreek Suba Hazara to request Khattak to order registration of FIR". The Express Tribune. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. "KP Assembly adopts resolution to create Hazara province". Dawn.com. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  8. Yousafzai, Shahabullah (24 October 2018). "Man behind Hazara province movement, Baba Haider Zaman passes away at 84". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. Editorial (2020-03-17). "Hazara province". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  10. Rehman, Ziaur (3 February 2020). "Why Hazara province movement has resumed from Karachi". The News International. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. Asad, Malik (21 August 2019). "Bill seeking to create new provinces referred to NA speaker". Dawn.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

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