We owe it to Jinnah
We, the people of Pakistan, owe it to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, to follow in letter and spirit, his vision that Pakistan be a modern democratic welfare state with a written constitution. It is commitment of Founding Fathers led by MAJ, Allama Iqbal and other members of All India Muslim League like Nawab Liaquat, Nishtar, Abdullah Haroon, Malik Barkat Ali, Qazi Essa and not any other individual or group, that citizens of Pakistan today live in an independent country. It must, however, be understood that freedom comes at a cost and “We the People” must ensure that Constitution reigns supreme and no individual, be he Nawaz, Musharraf, Altaf Hussain, Zardari, etc should have audacity to subvert our constitution, and get away with it.
Allama Iqbal and MAJ visualized that Muslims of subcontinent would be subjected to harassment and exploitation under Hindu majority in an undivided India and his reservations have proven correct today under Modi’s rule. All institutions of state exist to serve the people and country.
It is collective public interest which alone defines national interest and not ambitions or ego of a few. Individuals are dispensable and proof of this lies in graveyards of the world. We have lost half the country because we wavered from path laid down for us by Quaid, because we allowed likes of Iskandar Mirza and remnants of British Raj to derail Jinnah’s vision by not allowing constitutional rule and people’s will expressed through free and fair elections. America from a country, once torn apart through internal strife and disputes is today an economic and military power, because they adopted a Constitution over 200 years ago, given by their Founding Fathers and not allowed individual egos to subvert it. For Pakistan to survive and prosper it is essential that we adopt MAJ’s vision.
MALIK T ALI
Lahore
Quaid was right
Given the de-facto Hindutva state frenzy under BJP/RSS regime of India today, I would proudly say, yes our great sagacious leader was absolutely ‘right’ on his ‘Two-Nation Theory’. The Indian Muslims, who were against the Jinnah’s desire of them to have their own state as one nation from a scattered mask into cohesive block with one flag and one voice where they could achieve political, economic and religious independence thereby ridding of Hindu dominance, are now realizing/regretting that Muhammad Ali Jinnah was totally ‘right’. E.g. Mehbooba Mufti, former CM of Jammu & Kashmir, recently tweeted: ‘Decision of J&K leadership to reject Two-Nation Theory in 1947 and align with India has backfired’.
First, the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A and now a unilateral controversial Citizenship Amendment Act—blatant anti-Muslim moves—by the extremist Hindu government of BJP is giving rebirth to Quaid’s Two-Nation Theory in India. Such malicious shenanigans on basis of religion make India an apartheid state like Israel. India’s ‘Akhand Bharat’ expansionism move seems to be replicating Israel’s Zionism (Great Israel).
In 1971, after the fall of Dhaka, Indian PM Indira Gandhi jubilantly boasted saying, “Today we have sunk Jinnah’s ‘Two-Nation Theory’ in the Bay of Bengal”. But on the contrary to her whims, history has come a full circle. The current nationwide protestations and riots across India post CAA and evident remorse of Indian Muslims over their opposition to Jinnah’s theory tells the story that our ‘Quaid was right’.
ZAHID ALI ZOHRI
Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan
*****
Both Houses of Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, have passed a polarising Citizenship Amendment Act. This has been followed by anger and protests across India by the people and aggrieved parties. The main victims are Muslims. According to this act, now all Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can seek Indian citizenship, but not Muslims.
Instead, Muslims in Assam, who are from Bangladesh, have been deprived of their Indian citizenship and now are being compelled to live in detention centres. The visuals emerging from India paint a bleak picture. The present situation has proved that our founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was right in demanding a separate country for Muslims.
AATIF KHAN
Islamabad
Creator of the nation-state
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a lawyer, politician and the founder of Pakistan, known as Quaid-i-Azam and Baba-i-Qaum, was born on 25th December 1876. His birthday is observed as a national holiday. On Pakistan Day, wreaths are laid at his mausoleum in Karachi to commemorate his role in the founding of Pakistan. Special programmes about Jinnah are being broadcast on TV and Radio. It is a public holiday and the national is hoisted at top of all public and private buildings.
As the first Governor-General of Pakistan, Jinnah worked to establish the new nation’s government and policies. He left a deep and respected legacy in Pakistan. In 1940, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding a separate nation.
Ultimately, the Congress and the Muslim League could not reach a power-sharing formula for a united India, leading all parties to agree to separate independence of a predominantly Hindu India, and for a Muslim-majority state, to be called Pakistan. “A man with wisdom, a man of action and a man of sophisticated style.” Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah” is an example not only for the nation but for the whole world.”
HAFSA NADEEM
Islamabad
Pathetic state of institutions and education
THE event that happened in PIC, forced me to write something different from ordinary thinkers of social media who are trying to give it a political colour. Not some but many consider it a stain on the face of humanity. No doubt, politicians are using this event to secure maximum political mileage.
Similarly, the egoistic nature of lawyers could not tolerate it and they preferred creating a chaotic situation to show their institutional superiority. If we analyze the overall position of the doctors/lawyers institutions, both consider that people’s wellbeing is impossible without them. And this perception has penetrated in almost all the institutions of Pakistan. A question arises, “Can Pakistan survive without these institutions?” If it can’t, “can it tolerate their chaotic and egoistic nature? If yes, where would we place those people who lost their lives because of the battle between lawyers and doctors?
Another question appears in mind, “Can these institutions survive without public presence? If not, how can we ignore public lives at the cost of these egoistic characters?” We can’t tolerate institutional superiority at the cost of public life. If our existing institutions fail to secure public life, we must look for better ones. It demands fresh and public-oriented mindset. Thus, the role of our educational institutions like Madaris, Schools, Colleges and Universities is very important to improve the mindset of our society individually and collectively. If we fail to revise our existing thinking, no one can save us from decline and chaotic situation like the incident of PIC.
Muhammad Hussan
Via email
Begging should be stopped
I shall feel obliged if you kindly publish the following few lines in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column of your esteemed paper. Some beggars, no doubt, deserve our sympathy. They are handicapped. They are unable to earn their living. But the pity is that most of the beggars are able-bodied. Begging has become a profession for them. They find it the easiest way to earn their living. Some of them are criminals. They beg only to hide their crimes. This large scale begging is a slur on the fair name of our country.
The government should open centres for those who are really helpless. Able-bodied ones should be forced to work. If they go without work, they must also go without food. We should have no sympathy for such impostors. We should not encourage them by giving alms. People can thus play a big role in ending this evil.
YOUSAF JAMIL
Wah cant
