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ABBOTTABAD: Protests against the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa continued in Abbottabad and other parts of Hazara on Tuesday. The protesters burnt tyres and blocked the Karakoram Highway and the Murree Road. A man, identified as Farooq, who was injured in police firing died on Tuesday.
His funeral prayers were held in the grounds of the Government Degree College and was attended by a large number of people, including the Hazara Action Committee Chairman Sardar Haider Zaman Khan.
Following the funeral prayers, the protesters pelted stones at public installations, including the offices of the deputy inspector general of police and the district coordination officer. It prompted the police to fire in the air and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.
Eyewitnesses said seven people were injured in the police baton-charge and teargas shelling. Some of the injured were identified as Nadir Khan, Wasim, Hamid Nawaz and Liaqat. Four others Amir, Rafaqat, Adil and Ghulam Murtaza sustained injuries when they touched the electric wires while hitting and destroying signboards.
The sources said some of the protesters broke into an arms and ammunition shop in Abbottabad and looted everything. Young men, including teenagers, were seen decamping with guns and then displaying the weapons publicly. There were no policemen in sight to stop them. A mob ransacked the building of a bank. The angry protesters also smashed the furniture of the District Council Rest House and torched a jeep parked on its premises.
Sources said the protesters also tried to ransack the office of the Frontier House but the police fired teargas shells at them. The administration had already removed the signboard of Pakhtunkhwa House from its premises.
The streets and roads in Abbottabad wore a deserted look as protesters gathered in groups and raised slogans in support of the Hazara province. There was smoke at several places as the protesters burnt tyres and wood on the road. Eyewitnesses said a group of protesters set an oil tanker on fire on the Kakul Road.
Meanwhile, the police registered a case against over 300 protesters, including Chairman of the Action Committee Sardar Haider Zaman Khan, Mushtaq Ghani, Dr Azhar Jadoon, Naseer Khan and others for inciting violence and violating the law.
A complete shutter-down was observed in Haripur city to mourn the killing of eight people in firing by the police in Abbottabad a day earlier. The Shahrah-e-Hazara was blocked for all kinds of traffic. The enraged protesters attacked the office of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s member of the National Assembly from the area, Sardar Mushtaq, and set the furniture on fire.
The shops and business centres also remained closed in Mansehra district to mourn the Abbottabad killings. The traffic remained suspended. The Shahra-e-Kaghan remained closed at Balakot and Shahrah-e-Kashmir at Garhi Habibullah. The Karakoram Highway was closed at several points in Mansehra district, creating problems for transporters.
The members of the District Bar Association also staged a rally to register their protest against the Abbottabad killings. They demanded registration of murder cases against the administration and police officials. They also urged Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the killings. The funeral prayers of those slain in Abbottabad violence were offered at several places in the city and the district. Moving scenes were seen during the funerals. The Hazara University and its various campuses have already been closed while other educational institutions were closed for three days on Monday.
Moreover, the NWFP government has constituted a four-member ministerial committee to hold talks with representatives of the anti-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa movement in order to end the unrest in Hazara Division.
Briefing reporters about the NWFP cabinet meeting, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain alleged that a particular political party and some disgruntled elements were fanning the ongoing unrest in Abbottabad and Haripur districts of Hazara Division over the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti presided over the hurriedly-called meeting in which collective prayers for those who died in the Timergara bomb blast and Abbottabad violence were offered.
The provincial minister said the four-member ministerial committee would negotiate with an independent committee, comprising representatives from the Hazara Division, to remove their genuine grievances. He also held responsible the Pakistan Muslim League-Q for the unrest in Hazara where peaceful protests turned violent after the visit of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and others.
Earlier, addressing the cabinet, the chief minister said that the situation in Hazara and Abbottabad was a political dispute, which must be settled politically. “Difference in opinion is part of democracy and being a democratic government, we need to respect the opinion of every person. Freedom of opinion is a basic right,†he said, adding that 18th Amendment had been prepared by political forces and had been endorsed by parliament with absolute majority.
Meanwhile, the NWFP government also announced repatriation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Mohmand and Bajaur tribal agencies, living in different districts of the province. The IDPs from Mohmand Agency will go to their hometowns from April 14 (today) while the repatriation of displaced families from Bajaur Agency will begin from April 30.
The provincial cabinet was briefed by director general Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA). The cabinet members were informed that 1,72,503 IDP families from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been registered in the province. About 70,409 displaced families from Bajaur, 27,462 families from Mohmand Agency, 25,013 families from Orakzai Agency, 41,491 families from South Waziristan Agency, 4,365 families from Kurram Agency and 3,672 displaced families from Khyber Agency had been registered in the province.
APP adds: NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Tuesday blamed the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q for the chaos in Hazara division that started over the renaming of the province.
Briefing newsmen about the decisions taken at a meeting of the provincial cabinet to review the situation in Hazara, Iftikhar said that the provincial cabinet observed that the role played by the leadership of the PML-Q in the area was negative.
He said that the PML-Q leadership had added fuel to the fire instead of showing sanity and taking measures to help bring the situation under control. According to him, the incident of firing and death of some protestors could have been prevented had the PML-Q given up its stubborn attitude in holding the party convention in the area. He said that people were already charged over the renaming of the province and some vested elements took advantage of the situation by enraging those assembled on the call of the PML-Q leadership.
The minister said that the provincial cabinet was informed that Home Secretary Fayyaz Toru had been sent to Hazara Division to assess the situation and holding talks with the people. "The provincial government has constituted two committees for negotiations to diffuse the tension," he said.
"One committee," he added, "is of provincial cabinet while the other is of ministers from the Hazara Division." Iftikhar said the government respected the feelings of resentment and opposition to renaming of the NWFP, but would not allow anyone to disturb the law and order situation in the area. "The Awami National Party (ANP) struggled for 60 years in its bid to get recognition for the province and never resorted to politics of protests and destruction," he said.
PML-Q to vote against renaming in Senate
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Tuesday announced to continue its policy of lending support to the smooth passage of the 18th Amendment bill from the Senate as it did in the National Assembly but said it would vote against renaming the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“We will not create any hurdle in the smooth passage of the 18th Amendment bill from the Senate but will stick to our stance on the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,†said PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain while addressing a press conference after chairing a party CEC meeting here.
Flanked by party Secretary General PML-Q Mushahid Hussain, Amir Muqam, Senator Wasim Sajjad, Marvi Memon and other members of the CEC, Shujaat alleged that the Awami National Party (ANP) was trying to create a rift on the basis of language but the PML-Q would not allow it to do so.He said that anti-democratic forces were involved in the situation being created in the Hazara Division while some sections were wrongly blaming his party after failing to control the issue. “We will accept all the allegations but will never compromise on national interest. We never indulge in dead body politics,†he said.
Shujaat alleged that Mian Nawaz Sharif was used to taking U-turns on every issue and now on the issue of the NWFP, he (Nawaz Sharif) would take a U turn. Ameer Muqam urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the killing of poor civilians in Hazara Division and unveil the hands involved in these killings. He said some political parties had started calling the NWFP ‘Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’ that was a violation of the Constitution as the 18th Amendment bill was yet to become a law. “It is not an issue of Pashtuns or non-Pashtuns, it is a matter of an ideology for the people of the NWFP,†he added.
He said the people who were today struggling for renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would soon ask for greater Pakhtunistan. Answering a question on the demand by the PML-Q (Likeminded) for creating the Hazara province, Ameer Muqam said one of the brothers of Salim Saifullah Khan had voted for Pakhtunkhwa and Salim Khan was demanding the Hazara province. “I think Salim Khan should evolve a consensus within his house,†he suggested.
PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the high-level meeting of the party had passed a resolution condemning the police firing on the innocent people of Hazara and their assassination.
He said the meeting also offered Fateha for the departed souls. “The NWFP is a province with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. They speak different languages and have a big heart as they have been hosting 30 million Afghan refugees since the 1980s. Now some vicious elements have pitched these people against each other and we want to pacify the situation,†he said.
Referring to some significant achievements by Pakistan in the emerging regional scenario, Mushahid said the NWFP renaming bid was part of a vicious plan launched by some foreign forces who wanted to cash in by disintegrating the country. “The PML always foiled such attempts and would do the same this time. We had also suggested that the renaming issue should be settled separately and had warned that linking it to the 18th Amendment was not wise,†he asserted. End.
His funeral prayers were held in the grounds of the Government Degree College and was attended by a large number of people, including the Hazara Action Committee Chairman Sardar Haider Zaman Khan.
Following the funeral prayers, the protesters pelted stones at public installations, including the offices of the deputy inspector general of police and the district coordination officer. It prompted the police to fire in the air and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.
Eyewitnesses said seven people were injured in the police baton-charge and teargas shelling. Some of the injured were identified as Nadir Khan, Wasim, Hamid Nawaz and Liaqat. Four others Amir, Rafaqat, Adil and Ghulam Murtaza sustained injuries when they touched the electric wires while hitting and destroying signboards.
The sources said some of the protesters broke into an arms and ammunition shop in Abbottabad and looted everything. Young men, including teenagers, were seen decamping with guns and then displaying the weapons publicly. There were no policemen in sight to stop them. A mob ransacked the building of a bank. The angry protesters also smashed the furniture of the District Council Rest House and torched a jeep parked on its premises.
Sources said the protesters also tried to ransack the office of the Frontier House but the police fired teargas shells at them. The administration had already removed the signboard of Pakhtunkhwa House from its premises.
The streets and roads in Abbottabad wore a deserted look as protesters gathered in groups and raised slogans in support of the Hazara province. There was smoke at several places as the protesters burnt tyres and wood on the road. Eyewitnesses said a group of protesters set an oil tanker on fire on the Kakul Road.
Meanwhile, the police registered a case against over 300 protesters, including Chairman of the Action Committee Sardar Haider Zaman Khan, Mushtaq Ghani, Dr Azhar Jadoon, Naseer Khan and others for inciting violence and violating the law.
A complete shutter-down was observed in Haripur city to mourn the killing of eight people in firing by the police in Abbottabad a day earlier. The Shahrah-e-Hazara was blocked for all kinds of traffic. The enraged protesters attacked the office of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s member of the National Assembly from the area, Sardar Mushtaq, and set the furniture on fire.
The shops and business centres also remained closed in Mansehra district to mourn the Abbottabad killings. The traffic remained suspended. The Shahra-e-Kaghan remained closed at Balakot and Shahrah-e-Kashmir at Garhi Habibullah. The Karakoram Highway was closed at several points in Mansehra district, creating problems for transporters.
The members of the District Bar Association also staged a rally to register their protest against the Abbottabad killings. They demanded registration of murder cases against the administration and police officials. They also urged Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the killings. The funeral prayers of those slain in Abbottabad violence were offered at several places in the city and the district. Moving scenes were seen during the funerals. The Hazara University and its various campuses have already been closed while other educational institutions were closed for three days on Monday.
Moreover, the NWFP government has constituted a four-member ministerial committee to hold talks with representatives of the anti-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa movement in order to end the unrest in Hazara Division.
Briefing reporters about the NWFP cabinet meeting, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain alleged that a particular political party and some disgruntled elements were fanning the ongoing unrest in Abbottabad and Haripur districts of Hazara Division over the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti presided over the hurriedly-called meeting in which collective prayers for those who died in the Timergara bomb blast and Abbottabad violence were offered.
The provincial minister said the four-member ministerial committee would negotiate with an independent committee, comprising representatives from the Hazara Division, to remove their genuine grievances. He also held responsible the Pakistan Muslim League-Q for the unrest in Hazara where peaceful protests turned violent after the visit of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and others.
Earlier, addressing the cabinet, the chief minister said that the situation in Hazara and Abbottabad was a political dispute, which must be settled politically. “Difference in opinion is part of democracy and being a democratic government, we need to respect the opinion of every person. Freedom of opinion is a basic right,†he said, adding that 18th Amendment had been prepared by political forces and had been endorsed by parliament with absolute majority.
Meanwhile, the NWFP government also announced repatriation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Mohmand and Bajaur tribal agencies, living in different districts of the province. The IDPs from Mohmand Agency will go to their hometowns from April 14 (today) while the repatriation of displaced families from Bajaur Agency will begin from April 30.
The provincial cabinet was briefed by director general Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA). The cabinet members were informed that 1,72,503 IDP families from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been registered in the province. About 70,409 displaced families from Bajaur, 27,462 families from Mohmand Agency, 25,013 families from Orakzai Agency, 41,491 families from South Waziristan Agency, 4,365 families from Kurram Agency and 3,672 displaced families from Khyber Agency had been registered in the province.
APP adds: NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Tuesday blamed the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q for the chaos in Hazara division that started over the renaming of the province.
Briefing newsmen about the decisions taken at a meeting of the provincial cabinet to review the situation in Hazara, Iftikhar said that the provincial cabinet observed that the role played by the leadership of the PML-Q in the area was negative.
He said that the PML-Q leadership had added fuel to the fire instead of showing sanity and taking measures to help bring the situation under control. According to him, the incident of firing and death of some protestors could have been prevented had the PML-Q given up its stubborn attitude in holding the party convention in the area. He said that people were already charged over the renaming of the province and some vested elements took advantage of the situation by enraging those assembled on the call of the PML-Q leadership.
The minister said that the provincial cabinet was informed that Home Secretary Fayyaz Toru had been sent to Hazara Division to assess the situation and holding talks with the people. "The provincial government has constituted two committees for negotiations to diffuse the tension," he said.
"One committee," he added, "is of provincial cabinet while the other is of ministers from the Hazara Division." Iftikhar said the government respected the feelings of resentment and opposition to renaming of the NWFP, but would not allow anyone to disturb the law and order situation in the area. "The Awami National Party (ANP) struggled for 60 years in its bid to get recognition for the province and never resorted to politics of protests and destruction," he said.
PML-Q to vote against renaming in Senate
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Tuesday announced to continue its policy of lending support to the smooth passage of the 18th Amendment bill from the Senate as it did in the National Assembly but said it would vote against renaming the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“We will not create any hurdle in the smooth passage of the 18th Amendment bill from the Senate but will stick to our stance on the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,†said PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain while addressing a press conference after chairing a party CEC meeting here.
Flanked by party Secretary General PML-Q Mushahid Hussain, Amir Muqam, Senator Wasim Sajjad, Marvi Memon and other members of the CEC, Shujaat alleged that the Awami National Party (ANP) was trying to create a rift on the basis of language but the PML-Q would not allow it to do so.He said that anti-democratic forces were involved in the situation being created in the Hazara Division while some sections were wrongly blaming his party after failing to control the issue. “We will accept all the allegations but will never compromise on national interest. We never indulge in dead body politics,†he said.
Shujaat alleged that Mian Nawaz Sharif was used to taking U-turns on every issue and now on the issue of the NWFP, he (Nawaz Sharif) would take a U turn. Ameer Muqam urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the killing of poor civilians in Hazara Division and unveil the hands involved in these killings. He said some political parties had started calling the NWFP ‘Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’ that was a violation of the Constitution as the 18th Amendment bill was yet to become a law. “It is not an issue of Pashtuns or non-Pashtuns, it is a matter of an ideology for the people of the NWFP,†he added.
He said the people who were today struggling for renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would soon ask for greater Pakhtunistan. Answering a question on the demand by the PML-Q (Likeminded) for creating the Hazara province, Ameer Muqam said one of the brothers of Salim Saifullah Khan had voted for Pakhtunkhwa and Salim Khan was demanding the Hazara province. “I think Salim Khan should evolve a consensus within his house,†he suggested.
PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the high-level meeting of the party had passed a resolution condemning the police firing on the innocent people of Hazara and their assassination.
He said the meeting also offered Fateha for the departed souls. “The NWFP is a province with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. They speak different languages and have a big heart as they have been hosting 30 million Afghan refugees since the 1980s. Now some vicious elements have pitched these people against each other and we want to pacify the situation,†he said.
Referring to some significant achievements by Pakistan in the emerging regional scenario, Mushahid said the NWFP renaming bid was part of a vicious plan launched by some foreign forces who wanted to cash in by disintegrating the country. “The PML always foiled such attempts and would do the same this time. We had also suggested that the renaming issue should be settled separately and had warned that linking it to the 18th Amendment was not wise,†he asserted. End.
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