Movement for Hazara Province
Like the movement of Saraiki speaking people in Punjab Province,the people of Hazara also raised a voice of the same kind in the 1980s. This movement, which was founded in 1987, is named "Hazara Qaumi Mahaz" (HQM). The movement which has members across the country recently rose to prominence again with leaders again raising a demand for Hazara Province.
In April 2010, it was announced that through an amendment in the constitution of Pakistan, the name of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) would be changed to Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa leading to protests across the Hazara region, where Hindko speakers are dominant as compared to the Pashto speakers.[13] The announcement of the new name also lead to calls from Hazara for a new separate province.[14] Ten persons died, and nearly two hundred hurt during the rallies and protest all over Hazara region against Khyber Phakhtoonkhwa and creation of new province Hazara in April, 2010.
A complete wheel-jam and shutter-down strike was observed in the Hazara belt on second May, 2010, in support of the demand for a Hazara province and against the renaming of NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Traffic remained suspended all day while business centres were closed in Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan and Haripur. Peaceful demonstrations and rallies were also carried out and no loss of life or property was reported from any district of the division.
Meanwhile, a large public meeting was organised by the Tehreek-e-Hazara movement at the Shuhada Chowk, which was chaired by Haider Zaman Khan and attended by members Gohar Ayub Khan, Amanullah Jadoon, Dr Azhar Jadoon, Sardar Yaqoob Khan, Qalandar Lodhi among others from the districts of Hazara.
Traders and transporters also participated in the strike, while the protesters kept the Silk Route blocked all day. Demonstrators burnt tyres on the road and, later, gathered at the Shuhada Chowk, where HPMC members addressed the crowd.
Long march: The speakers said the demand for Hazara province would be achieved through a revolution and not a resolution. Leaders of the movement also threatened holding a long march towards Islamabad in case their demand for a separate province was not met. They said they would not hold talks with the federal or provincial governments.
The HPMC chairman said the struggle for obtaining a separate Hazara province was the need of the hour and asked the people to stay united on the stance.
Haider said the ANP government was mistaken in thinking it could stop the activists by using force. “The government should know that using police will compel the peaceful demonstrators to use arms against them.” He urged the government to accept Hazara province as a reality for the betterment of the people.
He said the people of Hazara could not adjust to the newly-created Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and told the people they should prepare themselves for rendering more sacrifices until the 19th amendment is tabled.[13] The announcement of the new name also led to calls from Hazara for a new separate province.[15]
The Ulema and Mashaikh on May, 18, 2010, Tuesday vowed to join the peaceful movement for the creation of a separate province of Hazara.
Speaking at a conference arranged by the Tehrik Sooba Hazara, Maulana Shafiqur Rehman, Abdur Razaq Abbasi, Ibrar Swati, Maulana Sarfaraz Farooqi, Peer Azhar Bakoi, Maulana Yousaf Shah, Maulana Iqbal Qureshi and others said that all the leaders should launch joint struggle to achieve the objective.
“We will extend every possible support but the struggle for a separate province must be peaceful,” Maulana Shafiqur Rehman said, adding the country could not afford further unrest and chaos.
Other speakers said that efforts should not be made to isolate any political party or leader and instead a joint struggle be launched to achieve the objective. The Ulema said that they were against the renaming of the province on ethnic lines, adding that people of Hazara would oppose every move aimed at weakening the nation.
Hazara, Pakistan: North-West Frontier Province, Darband 1948, Governer frontier and PM, Pakistan, Abbottabad, Divisions of Pakistan, Hazara University, Mansehra, Kohistan
