Islamabad, April 13: At least five people were killed and dozens injured in Abbotabad, about100km from here, when protesters clashed with police while agitating against renaming the North West Pakistan Frontier Province (NWFP) as Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa.
Police said workers of a newly formed party, the Tehreek Sooba Hazara, staged a rally on Monday morning in violation of a ban which turned violent when they were stopped by the authorities. Enraged protesters blocked the Korakoram Highway (KKH), the main land connection between China and Pakistan.
They also disrupted traffic on the Abbotabad-Murree road linking the city with hilly towns. Due to blockage of the main Korakoram Highway, many main cities and towns including Abbotabad, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit were cut off from the rest of country.
Angry protesters burnt vehicles and threw stone at police force while law enforces used teargas and baton charged the crowd. A mob also set ablaze the Cantt police station.
Protest rallies began last week when the National Assembly adopted the 18th constitutional amendment bill which includes a clause renaming the NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa. The Awami National Party (ANP) has been campaigning since long for a new name to the province that should reflect the predominant presence of Pushto-speaking people of the area. After holding thorough negotiations last week political parties agreed to the compromise name of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa under the 18th amendment.
Later, the non-Pushtun areas of the Hazara division where people speak Hindko language launched a movement under the banner of Tehreek Sooba Hazara that demands formation of a separate province. The week witnessed several big rallies which on occasions turned violent after clashes with police.
On Monday, about 200 ethnic Hazara people thronged the streets of Abbotabad and staged demonstrations despite the promulgation of Section-144 in the city, prohibiting assembly of more than five people. The protesters surrounded the Cantonment Police station and tried to torch it that led to clashes with police.
Similar rallies were organised in another major town of the area, Mansehra, where students of local colleges came out in streets. They shouted slogans and threw stones on police deployed to curb protests. The district administration had brought the additional police force from other parts of the province to curb the ongoing wave of violent protests. Law enforces are also using armoured personnel carriers to patrol the violence-affected areas.
According to Hazara Province Movement leader Sardar Haider Zaman, six people died in clashes with police during demonstrations on Monday. — mafzalkhan101@yahoo.com
AFP adds: “Our information is that six people have died in the violence,” NWFP information minister Iftikhar Hussain told reporters.
Hospital officials said more than 100 people were wounded in the clashes.
The demonstrators in Monday’s rally included supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.
The party has said it would oppose constitutional reform package in the senate or upper house.
North West Frontier Province Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti condemned the protest, accusing the protesters of wanting to create chaos and unrest.
Hot told reporters that his government was trying to resolve the issue through negotiations.
Pashtu speakers make up 70 per cent of the population in North West Frontier Province and the non-Pashtu-speaking Hazaras 30 per cent, Iftikhar Hussain said.
–Agencies