ANP to support constitutional efforts only

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Thursday said his party was not against the creation of new provinces provided all the constitutional requirements were fulfilled.

Replying to the demands by Qalandar Lodhi of the PML-Q and Javed Iqbal Abbasi of the PML-N seeking support of the ruling parties, ANP and PPP, for the unanimous passage of the resolution regarding the creation of Hazara province, Mian Iftikhar said he would support the constitutional efforts made for the creation of a new province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“It is strange that the elected representatives of Hazara are supporting a person who is not their well-wisher and his past track record is a testimony to the fact,” he said referring to the Hazara province movement leader Sardar Haider Zaman.

In an emotional tone that was applauded by the treasury benches, he reminded that Haider Zaman had formed a political party to campaign for the Hazara province and was no longer the unanimous leader of the movement. The minister, who belongs to the ANP, claimed the resolution submitted by the MQM in the National Assembly was nothing but a political stunt.

“The provincial assembly has the right under Article 239(4) of the Constitution to pass a resolution with two-thirds majority about setting up of new provinces,” he added. He said the statement of MQM leader Altaf Hussain about the new provinces was unconstitutional and unlawful. He said that after the passage of the 18th Amendment the provincial assemblies had the right to pass any resolution for creating new provinces with two-thirds majority.

The minister said that his party struggled for 60 years for renaming the province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “But we never became involved in any kind of blackmailing or ethnic discrimination while continuing our struggle for renaming the province,” he stressed.

He said the chief minister had announced the establishment of Abaseen division in Hazara division by bringing together Battagram, Kohistan and Torghar districts. He said after completion of the population census the new Abaseen division would become functional.