- Speakers lament cancellation of holiday on Iqbal Day
- Sirajul Haq says Iqbal’s intellectual stature was not measured by the cancellation of a holiday
- Nizami says terrorism being curtailed in light of Iqbal’s teachings and courageous initiatives of Gen Raheel Sharif
Iqbal Day took centre stage at the Iqbal Academy where an event was held to commemorate the legendary poet’s 138th birth anniversary on Monday.
The event was organised by the Academy with the collaboration of Markaziya Majlis-e-Iqbal, and was held in Aiwan-e-Iqbal. Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana presided over the event.
An array of personalities spoke at the event and touched upon the greatness that came with Iqbal. Verily, Iqbal wasn’t just a man, but an institution.
Addressing the occasion, Aiwan-e-Iqbal Chairman and Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami lauded the teachings of Iqbal by saying that the monster of terrorism is being curtailed in light of his teachings and with the courageous initiatives of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif.
Indeed, Iqbal’s words have a kind of potency that can motivate anyone into action. This nation was not created on thin air, it took men like Iqbal and their vision to take things forward. And that same vision is now being used to put terrorists back in their place.
The cancellation of the Iqbal Day holiday also came under discussion. In his speech, senior journalist and editor of Daily Pakistan Mujeebur Rehman Shami said that it is shameful that the holiday has been cancelled during the rule of the Muslim League.
Shami said that it was decided during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government that there would be a national holiday to mark Iqbal Day, but for the first time this holiday was discarded and it is disgraceful. “It seems that the incumbent government does not want to spread the message of Iqbal,” he said. Shami wanted the government to explain the reason behind such an initiative.
Iqbal’s grandson, Muneeb Iqbal, also spoke at the event. He said he was not going to criticise the government because it is the prerogative of the rulers to announce a holiday or to cancel it. More importantly, he pointed out that Iqbal Academy has become dormant because of a shortage of funds, and demanded that the government take serious attention in this regard.
This is an important point because the Iqbal Academy has a focused approach towards the preservation and promotion of Iqbal’s work. If the country does not invest in institutions such as these, then our heritage and history will be lost.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Senator Siraj ul Haq in his speech said that Iqbal’s intellectual stature was not measured by the cancellation of a holiday; Iqbal rules the hearts of 180 million people, and he was the name of an ideology.
He criticised recent statements by the prime minister where he vowed to make Pakistan a liberal and moderate country. “Our forefathers did not sacrifice their lives for the sake of a liberal Pakistan and the prime minister must take back his statement,” he noted. He further said that people wanted the Pakistan which Quaid-e-Azam had spoke of. “The Quaid had said more than a 100 times that this country will be run on the pattern of Madina,” he said.
The chief guest of the ceremony, Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid, in his address said that Iqbal was a universal poet and his poetry was greatly admired in Turkey and Iran as well.
He said that he came to Aiwan-e-Iqbal with a wish to hear the teachings of Iqbal and was disappointed that some were just focused on the issue of the holiday.
“We are already lagging behind as compared to the rest of the world and need to work hard. We must ensure that we work as much as we can, and this was the very message of Iqbal,” he maintained. He said that the Iqbal has stressed for continuous struggle throughout his life.
Governor Rajwana in his presidential address said every Iqbal Day must be celebrated with esteem.
Rajwana also addressed Haq’s concerns and said that the word liberal does not mean that we are moving away from Islam and we even cannot think of making the country a secular one. “When we talk about liberal, it means we are looking forward to a liberal economy to attract as much investment as we can for the betterment of this country,” he said.
Bureaucrat-turned analyst Orya Maqbool Jan, columnist Irshad Ahmad Arif and Mian Afzal Hayat also attended the event. There was a large number of school children present in the hall. In the end, Siraj ul Haq held a prayer for the recently departed soul of Justice retired Javed Iqbal.