To act upon Quaid’s sayings is best way to celebrate Independence Day

Nizami said true spirit of Quaid’s speeches was tolerance and harmony

The actual way to celebrate the Independence Day is to act upon the sayings of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Mutual respect, along with promoting harmony can lead Pakistan to its destination.

These were the remarks of speakers expressed during a ceremony regarding Independence Day held at Aiwan-e-Iqbal Lahore on Saturday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Advisor Irfan Siddiqui presided over the ceremony in which former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri participated as the chief guest, while Pakistan Today Editor and Aiwan-e-Iqbal Chairman Arif Nizami, Sajjad Mir, Orya Maqbool Jan, Iftikhar Ahmad and Irshad Arif were the key speakers.

During his inaugural address, Nizami said that Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam. “Quaid’s speech of August 11 has become a cliché while religious elements opposed his mission at that time,” he said, adding that the true spirit of Quaid’s speeches was tolerance and harmony among the nation. He welcomed all the guests and participants of the ceremony.

Irfan Siddiqui said that Jinnah’s speech of August 11 is usually quoted as a reference, as if we had acted upon all other sayings of Jinnah and only the said speech is being ignored. He said that Pakistan had come into being as a result of Jinnah’s speeches and struggle, and now it’s time to ponder “on what have we done with Jinnah’s Pakistan.”

Siddiqui said, “Media is responsible for spreading disappointment and frustration instead of giving hope to the nation. Today journalists are earning in millions and they start spreading frustration from their news ‘shops’ in evening.” He added, “The truth and logic have vanished from our society, and for a strong Pakistan we will have to avoid such things.”

Khurshid Kasuri said the time when Pakistan came into being, the country had nothing, but now it has gained a lot with its nuclear program at the top. He quoted the reference of a survey of Oxford University which revealed that the socio-economic condition of the country was better than Bangladesh and India.

“Today we have ourselves split into groups, which is our weakness as intolerance widely prevails among us. If such situation persists then there will be no need of Indian Army to destroy us,” Kasuri said, and added, “We will have to learn from our mistakes and strengthen our educational system because no country can progress without investing in teachers.”

Senior journalist Iftikhar Ahmad, while expressing his views, said that people have made history according to their wishes in Pakistan.

Orya Maqbool Jan said that oneness of Allah Almighty was the basic reason behind the division of sub-continent.

Sajjad Mir said that the Quaid’s speech of August 11 was according to the spirit of Misaq-e-Madina. He said that Quaid-e-Azam wanted to eliminate corruption from society.