Malik M Aslam Awan
RENOWNED journalist Z A Sulery has expatiated eloquently on the struggle of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for Pakistan. He has elaborated how Jinnah was opposed vehemently in his assertion that the Muslims of India will ultimately win a new homeland for themselves to lead their life according to their religious belief. Jinnah had unflinching faith that his struggle for an independent country will ultimately bear fruit and the Muslims of India will surely be bestowed with a territory by God Almighty.
He was so hardened and un-wavering in his belief of an independent homeland that he with the Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah frequently shared his views and discussed with her how his Pakistan would be. He often rhetorically expressed and emphasized that Pakistan was on the print of world map since hundreds of years and will sustain its existence till the last day of the world. The narration of the creation of Pakistan is full of sorrows and sufferings, the Muslims of India had to undergo during the ever largest migration of the world history.
The annals of migration days are so saddened that when any historian thinks to put these episodes in black and white his pen shivers and his hands feel so decrepitude as to resist go smoothly on the pages. Under the Redcliff Award four majority districts of united Punjab were unduly awarded to India with the long ruminated thought to give a reasonable corridor to Kashmir, to let the Hindus to perpetuate their atrocities on Kashimiri Muslims. Muslim majority districts Jallandhar, Gudaspur, Ferozpur, Hoshiarpur were manipulated to make the part of India and due to this grave injustice Pakistan is still facing so many glaring issues. Indian Army is hell-bent to impose an indefinite curfew on Kishmiris. The sovereign status of IoK has been invaded by Modi Government through unwarranted legislation, directed toward the ulterior motive to manipulate the Kishmiri majority into minority by letting the Hindus to settle themselves on IoK territory without facing any legal hindrance – the abrogation of safeguarding clauses of constitution regarding the sovereignty of IOK are clearly meant to reduce the Kishmiris into minority. Hindutva designs are delving deep to get incarnated to have a cruel grip on IoK. Now there is no lawful hindrance in the effulgence of Hindutva vested designs.
Jinnah dreamt of a Pakistan, being a sovereign state not to be a parasite on any other country or world organization: IMF, World Bank, ADB etc. He dreamt of a country with immense liberty and viable power to move forward towards the realization of his dream – the world’s biggest economic and strategic power. He envisioned a corruption, nepotism, embezzlement, dishonesty free Pakistan. He never envisaged even at a single moment that Pakistan would be such a state as to sprawl her hands before IMF, World Bank, ADB, or America or any other country to beg some coins to fill the pockets of some certain “Mafia” and privileged layer of society.
Pakistan, with the grace of God Almighty, is blessed with an agricultural economy as well as abundant in natural resources. Those at the helm of affairs never endeavoured sincerely to make hectic efforts to boost the economy and benefit out of natural resources. Being habitual beggars they turned their eyes towards foreign investors to earn a sizeable commission and let the territory to them to explore the oil, gas and other valuable natural resources. Our invaluable natural treasure has been lavishly entrusted to aliens to profit out of it. We remained shorn of the benefit of God gifted blessings. If we had an iota of wisdom, we would have earned mammoth wealth out of natural treasure hidden inside the earth but to utter lament we are devoid of national vision.
Above all, pity to the wisdom of our so called leaders, we have preferred begging for our existence instead of being dependent on our own natural resources to earn out and be self sufficient with strong economy to lead the world, instead of being a parasite on them and sell our national identity and pride to them. National pride and identity is the invaluable asset of an honourable living nation, which if sold to the other nations connote the liberty of that nation in jeopardy. And we cannot afford this situation and to avoid being fallen in this abhorred dilemma, we will have to endeavour hard to regain our lost renaissance and pride of being a Muslim nation, which ruled the subcontinent for centuries.
—The writer is a freelance columnist and independent analyst based in Lahore.
