It has taken me few days to write on the topic because I wanted the noise and chatter to settle down a bit. While we have a war like situation in the newly named Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, it was interesting to see how all political parties came together for and against renaming of the province and ended up creating a new war zone within a war zone. The parties for it got it all settled within 2 weeks and those against it are still battling it out on the streets of Hazara Divsion.
Renaming of old NWFP has been at fore and back of ANP politics since atleast 1980s but the speed with which it got passed this time baffled even its supporters. My opinion on this issue is ‘fine!’ If the majority of people want this name for the province then why not? However, what is happening in Hazara for the past two weeks has been more a muted reaction. Just yesterday several people lost their lives.
What I have not completely understood yet and I am sure our readers will have a lot to say about it in comments below is why renaming a province has been such a polarizing issue in Hazara? May be my views are very simplistic but naam mein kia rakha hai yaar? Naming a province to one ethnicity or group doesn’t give or take anybody any extra rights. I however still think that a decision like this should’ve been taken by referendum where majority of people could have voted on the issue rather than few people deciding on it.
Another dimension of last few days’ events, and it appears quite obvious is that PML(Q) seems to be exploiting the situation in the area which has been the vote bank of PML(N) in the past.
Looks like what started with just renaming of the province may actually end up creating a separate province – Which by the way, may not be a bad idea either. At ATP we’ve discussed the idea of creating more provinces in Pakistan few times. See here and here. Yesterday PML(N)’s Javed Hashmi gave a very strong statement in favour of a separate province of Hazara region. Today PML(Q)’s Chaudhry Shujat has also called for a separate Hazara province.
Urdu newspaper Jang reported that in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s assembly two resolutions have been submitted – by two ANP members – to carve out Hazara province. So this appears to be another dimension of the conflict. The news cutting is to the right.
While the streets of Mansehra-Abbotabad simmer with burning tyres the usual blame game is also going on in full swing. So much so that it appears to be a league tournament – where everybody takes on everybody else. I’ve seen on-record news items where PTI has blamed ANP, PML(N) has blamed PML(Q). PML(Q) has blamed PML(N), local PPP guys have blamed ANP and ANP has blamed every body mentioned above for creating the chaos in Hazara.
This is time to rise above petty politics, because I think all parties want good in the end – It is just their inflated egos which they can’t seem to overcome. The name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is fine. Congratulations to all those who wanted it. Those who want separate province called Hazara, I hope they lobby and arrange for public referendum on the issue and measure their support by ballot and not by burning public property.
I was especially saddened to see an Edhi ambulance burnt by the mob protesting for Hazara rights two days ago. Photos of this burning Edhi ambulance were published in news media all over – see our title photo above which captured this sad moment. Which cause teaches anybody to burn an ambulance? It is a shame. An excerpt from Dawn news of April 12 goes like this:
The protesters blocked roads, pelted police with stones, torched two police vehicles and an ambulance of Edhi Foundation, smashed billboards and also set a police station on fire.
On the ground – just by renaming the province, nothing changes in terms of rights of people, creating more jobs, better sanitation, more electricity, more schooling etc – Those issues still remian where they were before North West Frontier province was renamed as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
If there are 28 provinces in neighbouring Afghanistan, 27 in India and 32 in Iran then why not create more provinces in Pakistan,
Hazara made the Pakistan
Hazara will save the Pakistan
Naam mein kya Rakha Hai??? I’ll say KUCH BHI NAHI. I am a Pakhtun from Swat. I got nothing to do with these so-called political partied nor they gonna pay me a single penny but as a matter of fact what do we have to proud of? Whatever we call pride belongs to our ancestors. What has this dancing generation done for this newly born province Pakhtun Khwa?
I dont know why dont we understand this thing? Instead of considering naming ethnicities for God sake consider what problems these ethnicities are facing? We are not 1st class country. We have problems to be solved. Despite having billions in revenue we are asking for foreign aid! When will we wake up? Our society needs a drastic revolution- a revolution that can change Our thinking!
There’s nothing in re-naming provinces nor creating new ones. We should rather focus on the development of the PRE-EXISTING provinces. Thats the need of the hour. What a pity? Inspite of a being agricultural country we import wheat, rice, suger et al. I dont know when the hell will our NATION wake up? When? The matter should not be politicized….FOR GOD SAKE KEEP AWAY GREEB AWAM FROM YOUR POLITICS- Dont drag them into your policies, which are merely for your own good.
The matters in swat and surroundings havent settled as yet and you people are talking about creating and naming new provinces! What a pity?! The parliment and upper house are not to discuss “Naming Provinces”! They are rather to solve their problems. Provide them with electricity, clean water and other basic necissities.
Wake up my Nation! Wake Up!
Pakistan Zindaabad…..
Folks are all caught up in ethnicity issue. Sure on the surface that is what it appears to be.
But all Pakistanis are ethnic! Every single one. Urban ethnic, rural ethnic, linguistic ethnic, religious ethnic, zat ethnic, educated (ignorant) ethnic and full of wisdom but non-degreed ethnic. And there are .01% ethnics who live in ‘I-Slamabad’; who routinely claim to ‘I slammed everyone else’.
Is this not another example of ‘top-down-approach’ instead of bottom up? When will the ignorant-educated get it, that the people like to be heard, to be treated with dignity? And please, do not tell me this is another case of feudals running the country down. All the so called educated but total ignorants are in it. They all simply misread the good folks.
Because no one asked them.
People are demanding Equity and Justice. Better get ahead of the curve and start doing the right things; right away.
It’s more of an identity issue. Naam mein bohat kuch rakha hai and thus you see ANP celebrating and dancing over a name change. They think they’ve finally been recognized as a nation in Pakistan – All becasue of a mere ‘name change’. Does that imply that they were ill-treated or not given any importance when the province was called ‘sarhad’ – Definitely not.
The part ‘pkahtoonkhwa’ in the name has become a symbol of the upcoming Pakhtoon hegemony in the eyes of Hazaras it seems. They find themselves no where in all this identity crises. Age old animosity with ANP plus sentiments fuelled ridiculously by opportunists (politicians) has resulted in chaos. That’s what happens when you play the ‘ethnic card’.
a good compromise would be the name pakhtunkhwa-hazara for the province. while the concern for the feelings of hazarewal in this matter is understandable, we should not, in the process, lose sight of the feelings of the majority in the province. this can turn out to be a double edged sword; if hazara can separate from nwfp, there are aspiring minorities in other provinces as well. also, by forcing the majority, would we not have sown the seeds for an embittered pakhtunkhwa to secede from pakistan?