Remembering Quaid-e-Azam

Sixty six years after gaining independence, we are celebrating another birth anniversary of Quaid e Azam Mohd Ali Jinnah, under whose leadership, vision of Allama Iqbal was realized on 14 August 1947. While addressing first Constituent Assembly on 11 August he stated “no matter what is his color, caste or creed,(he/she) is first, second and last a citizen of this State, with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make”.

He however warned that “first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State, The second—biggest curses from which India is suffering–is bribery and corruption”—a poison that must be put down with an iron hand.

Immediately after his death, his legacy and vision were distorted by mad rush to acquire evacuee property through fake claims, which created a nouveau rich class that acquired political power and thereafter started process of degeneration of our society, our values, with individual greed and self interest becoming first priority and national interests and security of citizens a casualty of this mindset.

In 1962 we saw bureaucracy and uniformed establishment, in league with remnants of former Unionists and nouveau rich breed of politicians, getting together to rig an election and defeat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. She later died under mysterious circumstances and thereafter started musical chair to grab power through barrel of a gun, spreading discontent among majority Bengali speaking population of East Pakistan leading to our humiliating defeat in 1971. No lessons were learnt and it did not end there, when Zia took over power, usurping 1973 Constitution. He initiated strategic depth concept, which failed so miserably that today Pakistan state has become strategic depth for Taliban terrorists of Afghanistan through their surrogates TTP.

Had we followed Quaid’s vision of conforming to his vision of modern democratic welfare state, with Rule of Laws not of individuals, dealing with an iron hand to curb curse of bribery and corruption, this country would not have been in a mess that it is today, where tax evasion is rampant and criminals flourish.

MALIK TARIQ ALI

Lahore