Rebuilding Pakistan as Quaid wanted

Haven't many of us and our leaders almost forgotten Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's mission and his unique vision of all the time strong, progressive and well defended Pakistan? Just ponder selflessly.

Do our leaders not need to get united again but now like soldiers to meet challenges in this hour of trial, and recall what the Quaid had wanted of his followers in the nation's interest? The need is dire because the enemy is up to making last bid to crush our homeland socio-economically and politically.

The common man in search of social and economic justice has made up his mind to help search and fight the enemy alongside the country's defenders.

The Quaid believed in Islamic principles and democracy and advocated the cause of the common man.

He visualised a welfare state. He had conceived Pakistan based on foundations of social justice and Islamic socialism which stress equality and brotherhood of man. He was concerned with the problem of poverty and backwardness among Muslims for the eradication of which they looked, on the one hand, to the urges of dynamism, struggle and creativity in Islam and, on the other, to the Islamic principle of distributive justice.

The Quaid's speeches during the freedom struggle reflected his vision.

He declared: "It will be a people's government; I should like to give a warning to the landlords and capitalists who have flourished at our expense by a system which is so vicious, which is so wicked and which makes them so selfish that it is difficult to reason with them; the exploitation of the masses has gone into their blood; they've forgotten the lesson of Islam; greed and selfishness have made these people subordinate to the interests of others in order to fatten themselves."

City elders say: "We will have to unite as the Quaid had done; build our character as he had defined and then implement his dream with a strong determination."  That will mean rebuilding Pakistan as was also visualized by hundreds of thousands who sacrificed their lives.

The question is: when will our leaders learn a lesson to mend their ways and dedicate their will and energy to rebuild Pakistan?

We should never forget that united we stand, divided we fall. Let the enemy fall.

zasarwar@hotmail.com