INDEPENDENCE Day is always celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm every year and understandably so but this year has special significance as the nation recently realized the true importance of independence and sovereignty.
The Government has justifiably chalked out elaborate programmes and people of Pakistan are massively participating in all the events in view of the serious challenge thrown to the security of the country by an enemy, which has not yet accepted the reality of Pakistan and the way the defence forces defended the motherland and taught the enemy a lesson that would be difficult for it to forget for a long time to come.
Pakistan achieved independence after a long democratic struggle by Muslims of South Asia under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and its forefathers repeatedly expressed their commitment to the cause of peace, progress and prosperity. However, the then foreign rulers and the Indian Congress joined hands to deny Pakistan its legitimate share of territories forming united India and deprived the newly born country of the due share of resources. The unjust partition plan created enormous problems and posed extraordinary challenges of security for Pakistan and an atmosphere of threats and blackmail persists because of Kashmir and water issues, as was also highlighted recently in the Pakistan-India war. India first expected the fall of Pakistan within months and then conspired throughout during the last 77 years to undermine the strength and security of the country. It scored a success by dismembering Pakistan but the remainder Pakistan has proved beyond any doubt that it will never accept Indian hegemony and defend itself at all costs. India has a mindset of settling scores through use of force and it tried to demonstrate its military muscles in the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident. The false flag operation was aimed at creating justification for an aggression against Pakistan and establishing India’s credentials as a mini super power but the adventure misfired and produced the opposite results due to the heroic response given by the defence forces of Pakistan. It was because of the falsehood that India not only lost the military conflict but also suffered defeat after defeat on the diplomatic front as it stands almost completely isolated as confirmed by a number of regional and global developments. Credit surely goes to the PML Government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for chalking out and pursuing a strategy that has effectively safeguarded Pakistan’s interests on all fronts. Pakistan stands tall because of its prudent policies and is considered to be one of the rare states having cordial relations with all powers. It is, therefore, a day to celebrate our victory and pay tributes to all those who contributed their share in making Pakistan strong and offering sacrifices for its causes. The day reminds us why the Muslims of South Asia decided to launch a struggle for a separate homeland and the need to continue to allocate necessary resources to make the defence impregnable in the fast-changing regional and global environment. While we have demonstrated our capability to defend ourselves against foreign aggression, unity in the ranks of the nation is required to defeat internal enemies, who are aided by our enemy to destabilize Pakistan and scuttle its journey on the road to economic progress and prosperity. The incumbent Government, backed by the Pakistan Army, is making frantic efforts to reform different sectors of the national economy and it has achieved remarkable successes in some areas. There is a need to develop the economy and lessen reliance on foreign loans that have reached a back-breaking point. This, in turn, demands initiation of practical steps to evolve a Charter of Economy, a possibility if the idea of national reconciliation is promoted in the real sense of the word.
