ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Chairman Hazara Province Movement, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Wednesday called for the creation of new provinces, including Hazara, to bring governance closer to the people, improve service delivery and ensure greater public access to centres of power. Addressing a national dialogue organised by the Islamabad Bar Association, he said Pakistan had four provinces at the time of its creation and the number had remained unchanged despite a substantial increase in population, districts, tehsils and administrative requirements. “The time has come to create new provinces, including Hazara,” he said, adding that the demand for Hazara province was constitutional, democratic and based purely on administrative considerations rather than linguistic or ethnic identity. Sardar Yousaf said the people of Hazara had rendered sacrifices for the cause, with seven people losing their lives during the movement for a separate province. He said resolutions in favour of Hazara province had been passed three times by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, while bills relating to its creation had also been introduced in the National Assembly and Senate. APP
