Allama Iqbal envisaged a democratic Islamic welfare state and only democracy is the true viable option for the country, Information Minister Arif Nizami said on Saturday.
During his presidential address at the death anniversary of Iqbal, Nizami said Pakistan came into being through a democratic way and democracy was the cure for all its ills. “Today, Pakistan has come a long way; an independent election commission, judiciary, media and a neutral caretaker set up are in place,” he said.
He further added that the mandate of the caretaker set up is to hold free and fair elections. He sympathised with all political parties which had become targets of attacks, as some forces were trying to take away their ‘political space’ from them.
“If there is a stigma attached to the green passport, we are all responsible for it,” he added.
Renowned civil servant Orya Maqbool Jan said Iqbal still commands influence among the masses.
“His heart was the true reflection of the Quran and he got all his inspiration from the Holy Prophet. Confining Iqbal’s role to giving Pakistan’s ideology is tantamount to belittling such a great poet and philosopher who always talked of the Islamic millat at large,” he said.
He also criticised all those who were pro-democracy, saying that a more sacred document was the Quran and not the constitution.
He said the constitution of Israel is Torah.
He recited verses from Iqbal’s poetry and pressed the youth to follow the message of the great poet of the east.
Iranian Counsel General Muhammad Hussain Al Asadi called Iqbal “a shining star” and “guiding light” for the Muslim world.
“Iqbal foresaw all big problems being faced by the Muslims and gave hope to the coming generations. Iqbal’s Persian poetry is pretty popular in Iran, but has been confined to a limited audience due to the language barrier,” Asadi said.
The counsel general further suggested that an Iqbal centre should be established at the Punjab University which would translate his works into English to make it available to the western audience as well.
“Indian embassy holds functions to mark Tagore’s day in Iran while the Pakistani embassy has never held any such function,” he added.
“If such a great poet was born in the west, he would have been a lot more popular and widely read,” he added.
Justice (R) Nasira Javaid Iqbal lamented how the government was all set to remove Iqbal’s poetry from the syllabus.
PU Head of Persian Department Professor Saleem Azhar highlighted the importance of Afghanistan in Iqbal’s vision and how the latter had worked to bring modern education for the overall stability of the region.
Tahir Hameed Tanoli termed the Allahbad address of the great poet as important as a constitutional document.
Tanzeem Dawat-i-Islami’s Hafiz Akif Saeed said only Muslims could be the rightful rulers of “God’s earth”.
What an irony, because on the stage sits a man who himself along with his family opposed Allama Iqbal as a Unionist
Allama Iqbal stands rebuked and belittled when men who all their life have been opportunists, disagreeing with everything he ever stood for, have now become custodians of IQBAL
it is evidently proved that we as a nation have forgoten the actual leagacy of iqbal .
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