PESHAWAR: Three lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf submitted a resolution with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Secretariat here on Friday, asking the federal government to create Hazara province by making relevant amendment to the Constitution.

MPAs from Abbottabad district, including the chief minister’s special assistant Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, advisor Qalandar Khan Lodhi and parliamentary secretary Sardar Mohammad Idrees, submitted their joint resolution, which is expected to be tabled in the coming session of the assembly. Governor Engineer Shaukatullah on Friday summoned the assembly session on Tuesday next.

MPA Mushtaq Ghani told Dawn that they had prepared the draft of the resolution after meeting with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in Peshawar on Thursday to seek his consent. PTI MNA from Abbottabad Dr Mohammad Azhar Khan Jadoon was also present on the occasion.

“The chief minister fully agreed with the text of the resolution and it will be tabled in the assembly in its coming session,” he said and added that PTI’s coalition partners and opposition parties in the provincial assembly would be taken into confidence to pass the resolution with consensus.

The three lawmakers hailing from Hazara division had joined the PTI after winning the May 11 general elections. The PTI has made commitment in its election manifesto to create separate province in the name of Hazara. Besides, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and local chapters of other political parties in Hazara division comprising seven districts have also supported creation of Hazara province.

Mr Ghani said that he had joined the PTI after seeking its firm assurance for supporting creation of Hazara province.

He said that the mover of the proposed resolution would do extensive homework within and outside the assembly before tabling the resolution.

The draft resolution said that the total population of the country was around 30 million before separation of East Pakistan. After the East Pakistan debacle four provinces; Punjab, Balochistan, NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Sindh were established.

According to the proposed resolution, Pakistan’s current total population is 180 million, but the number of the federating units remains the same, whereas India has 27 provinces and states while Afghanistan has 34 provinces. Keeping in view the administrative requirements and problems of the people these neighbouring countries had increased the number of the provinces, it said.

“Creation of Hazara province is the democratic, constitutional and political right of the people of Hazara,” the draft resolution said and added ‘therefore this assembly requests the federal government to add the word Hazara after Sindh; in Article 1 (2) (a) of the Constitution’.

Local chapters of political parties and civil society groups had made demand for the separate province when the then NWFP was being renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the 18th amendment. Also, the movement for Hazara province was launched in the area after renaming of the NWFP in April 2010.