Zubair Qureshi
President Dr Arif Alvi has said the fikr-e-Iqbal served as beacon of light for the present government’s vision of the establishment of Riasat-e-Madina,
Pakistan he said was moving towards the Renaissance of Muslims in line with the philosophy of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
“Riasat-e-Madina,” said the President “is the voice of everyone’s heart including you and me.”
President Alvi made these remarks while addressing a seminar titled “The Vision of Iqbal: Ambassador’ Conference” at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The event was organized by the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) and attended by a large number of eminent poets, writers and scholars.
Among the noted persons who attended, addressed and interacted with the president on the occasion include Minister for National Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood, Senator Waleed Iqbal, grandson of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Chairman Academy of Letters Dr. Yusuf Khushak, Dr Ayub Nasir, Prof. Dr. Shahid Iqbal Kamran, and Ambassadors and High Commissioners of different countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan.
The president was of the view that despite the propaganda of enemies, some brave leaders in the Islamic world including Prime Minister Imran Khan stood firm on Muslims’ Renaissance through the ideals of peace, harmony, unity and coexistence as per the vision of great thinker and poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
Recalling the historic 1930 address of Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Allahabad, the president said the current situation of minorities’ exploitation in India were reflective of what Allama Iqbal had viewed about the two-nation theory and the creation of a separate homeland for Muslims of the subcontinent.
The president said that as the vision and poetry of Allama Iqbal was universal with focus on Muslims’ Renaissance, he was the poet of Ummah.
While referring to the ruling party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) over two decades back, President Alvi said since Prime Minister Imran Khan was inspired by the thoughts of Allama Iqbal, they then had decided that their government should be on the model of the State of Madina.
He recounted various political, intellectual and philosophical achievements of Allama Iqbal including his efforts for the creation of Pakistan.
The president said that Allama Muhammad Iqbal, like the founder of nation Quaid-e-Azam, was initially supportive of a United India but later after realizing the psychology of Hindus, who wanted their dominance, gave the idea of a separate Muslim state and started political efforts to achieve the objective. Shafqat Mehmood said Allama Iqbal also addressed the youth and highlighted the importance of education.
