Architect of ‘Pakistan First’ doctrine praised by friends, former colleagues
Zubair Qureshi
Custodian of Eidgah Sharif Pir Naqeebur Rehman and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi on Tuesday remembered former military ruler General Retired Pervez Musharraf (Died: Feb 5, 2023) in glowing words and called him a true Pakistani who always held his country’s interests above everything else and never let any individual or power—national or international—come between his country and him.
Musharraf projected a positive image of Pakistan on every forum in the world and introduced doctrines of ‘Pakistan First’ and ‘enlightened moderation,’ they said.They were addressing a reference and ‘Dua-e-Maghfrat’ organized at Gen Musharraf’s nephew Umar Haider’s residence in Sector G-6/3. A large number of Musharraf’s friends from the armed forces as well as the bureaucracy and corporate sector had come to join the prayers.
Among the guests, one could see former Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, Gen Retired Muhammad Yousaf Khan, ex-Chairman PTCL, Maj Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik, wife of Kashmiri leader Yaseen Malik, Mushaal Mullick, Pir Hassaan Hassebur Rehman, former MD PTV M Arshad Khan, former spokesperson Ministry of Interior Brig (R) Javed Iqbal Cheema, artist and civil rights activist Laila Zuberi, Amb Brig (R) Zareef Malik, US-based eminent Pakistani businessman Pervaiz Mehmood, Muhammad Iftikhar and a large number of the followers of Pir Naqeebur Rehman who had come all the way from Rawalpindi to attend the prayers for Musharraf.
Tahir Ashrafi while speaking on the occasion said Musharraf was not only a towering leader of Pakistan, he was also a leading figure of the Islamic world. Musharraf refused to stand by hardliners; rather, he projected a progressive picture of Islam and Pakistan. Despite criticism by political leaders, I can testify he was an upright man and never compromised on principles, said Ashrafi. He said Musharraf decided to stand by the US in war on terror on the advice of politicians and the state institutions. “It was a collective decision but unfortunately, only Musharraf is being held responsible for that,” he said.
Pir Naqeeb, while leading prayers for Musharraf called him a true son of the soil, a man who remained alive to the defence of the country. Musharraf loved humanity, his country and the people of Pakistan, said Pir Naqeeb.
For his services, the former military general would always be remembered in the history of Pakistan, said Pir Naqeeb. He disclosed that thousands of his followers at Eidgah are sending prayers for the blessing of Musharraf’s soul and this will continue in the coming days as well. He expressed his unequivocal support to the armed forces of Pakistan and rejected baseless propaganda against them by certain politicians. “We stand by our army and would not let any conspiracy or conspirator tarnish its image,” he said. Pir Naqeeb also prayed for the health and wellbeing of Sehba Musharraf and other members of the late general’s family. Earlier, Pir Hassaan Haseeb highlighted positive aspects of Pervez Musharraf’s personality and called him a true ‘Ashiq-e-Rasool.’ The participants praised the arrangements by the host couple Umar and Rizwana for organizing the event in a simple but graceful way.
