ABBOTTABAD/MANSEHRA: A ‘black day’ was observed on the call of the Hazara Action Committee across Hazara division on Friday against the renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.
In Abbottabad, protest rallies were held throughout the district after the Friday prayers by the workers and activist of various political parties including PML-Q, PPP, Jamaat-e-Islami, PPP-Sherpao, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Hazara Qaumi Movement (HQM), and bodies of traders and students.
The protesters were chanting slogans against Pakhtunkhwa and in favour of Hazara province and were holding placards inscribed with slogans highlighting their demands. It was the ninth day of protests against Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and in support of Hazara province.
Addressing the protest rally, Chairman of Hazara Action Committee Sardar Haider Zaman and other leaders said they would not accept Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, as it would eliminate their identity.
The elderly Sardar Haider Zaman, who is a former provincial minister, vowed to continue struggle for Hazara province and said that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari had refused to accept them as Pakistanis by renaming the province as Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa in the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
Other speakers alleged that the Awami National Party had never accepted Pakistan and through Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa it was striving for a greater Pakhtunistan. The office-bearers of the Pakistan People’s Party in Abbottabad also announced to join the movement for Hazara province and said they would struggle for a separate province by remaining in the PPP. Addressing a press conference, PPP activists Gul Hamid, Sardar Ibrar and others said they would struggle for the rights of Hazarawal and would oppose Pakhtunkhwa in and outside the party.
Meanwhile, the protesters in Mansehra town, Balakot, Garhi Habibullah, Oghi and in parts of Kohistan also observed ‘black day’ and held rallies across the region. Angry protesters also blocked the Kashmir Road at Garhi Habibullah to show their resentment against the renaming of the NWFP. Black flags were also hoisted on buildings and shops in parts of Hazara.
Former Mansehra district nazim Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, MPAs Habibur Rehman Tanoli and Wajeehuzzaman Khan, former MPA Shahzada Gustasap, Maulana Rafique Rehman Qamar, Dr Siddique and representatives of trade unions addressed the main protest rally in Mansehra town. They said the parliamentary committee on the constitutional reforms did not take people of Hazara into confidence prior to renaming the province.
They said that if the government had given a section of the population of Frontier province an identity, a separate province should be created for the people of Hazara. They also paid rich tributes to 20 lawmakers who voted against Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa in the National Assembly. “People of Hazara are being deprived of their entity. The ANP, which opposed the idea of separate homeland for Muslims, is being provided a chance to create greater Pakhtunistan,” said Sardar Yousaf.
Sardar Yousaf said they would foil what he called the conspiracy to disintegrate the country. Rallies were also staged in Haripur district on the call of the Hazara Action Committee.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=233518
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