Soliciting kind attention of Shehbaz Sharif
Hon Mr Prime Minister: With due reverence, I am taking the liberty of penning this entreaty to you for your perusal and kind consideration.
I wish to bring to your kind attention an important issue that I had earlier raised with the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Saqib Nisar and former Premier, Imran Khan.
What I had penned to these three top-ranking personalities of the country, vis-à-vis the issue that I am raising in this communication, once again, unfortunately went totally unheeded.
In fact, the secretariats of the above dignitaries didn’t even bother to acknowledge my communications addressed to them.
I am now proffering my plea to you with the hope that it would not only be considered earnestly this time, but would also see the light of day.
Prime Minister, the matter that I wish to bring to the fore in this communication relates to none other than the person of a profoundly staunch Pakistani, a veteran politician from former East Pakistan, and one of pre-eminent Freedom Movement leaders, late Mahmud Ali.
Your time is precious, I wouldn’t, therefore, go into details of his profile and get down to the crux of the matter forthwith.
Besides, a detailed background information vis-a-vis this veteran politician of Pakistan is available on Wikipedia.
It has also been published by Pakistan Post along with the commemorative postage stamp issued by it on February 18, 2020.
Needless to say, his profile speaks volumes about his unparalleled sacrifices and contribution towards not only the cause of Pakistan, but also towards the Kashmir cause.
Mr.Prime Minister, you would surely appreciate that successive governments, for some unknown reasons, consigned a person of late Mahmud Ali’s stature to the oblivion.
He certainly didn’t deserve the treatment that was meted out to him, after his sad demise, by past governments.
Under directives of the previous government, Pakistan Post, to pay tribute to the veteran politician, did publish a commemorative postage stamp.
I do appreciate this initiative of the previous government, but to be honest late Mahmud Ali deserves considerably more.
I sincerely urge you to direct the relevant government departments to take the following immediate measures to grant Mr Ali the recognition that he so genuinely merits:
(1) Confer on him Pakistan’s highest national award “Nishan-e-Pakistan”.
(2) Name a Road/Avenue in his name in the Capital.
(3) Build a Memorial in his name in the Capital.
Expeditious execution of the above recommendations, you would appreciate, will ensure grant of long-overdue recognition to veteran politician and Freedom Movement leader of international renown, late Mahmud Ali.
Needless to say, it would also prove to be a hallmark of your government in granting recognition to national heroes.
In conclusion, Mr.Prime Minister please allow me to say that nations which fail to recognize the sacrifices and contribution of their founding leaders can never see the heights of glory.
Let us, therefore, lay the foundation of recognizing the true leaders of this country by honoring them deservedly for their unparalleled sacrifices and services for the country.
—The writer is columnist – commentator – social media activist – social media influencer.
