Karachi pays homage to Father of the Nation

The nation celebrated the 142nd birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Tuesday by paying rich tributes to the Father of the Nation.

The day began early in the morning with a change-of-guard ceremony at the Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi where a contingent of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul took over the guard duty from the Pakistan Air Force.

In separate messages, the president and the prime minister called for adhering to Jinnah’s vision and following his guiding principles of unity, faith and discipline in our individual as well as collective lives.

President Arif Alvi underscored that Jinnah s vision and thoughts are as relevant today as they were seven decades ago. “It’s an occasion for all of us to rejoice and reaffirm our commitment to the ideals of democracy, egalitarianism, constitutionalism and rule of law, which were upheld by our great leader throughout his life.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the nation to reflected on the fact that Jinnah envisioned a state where “we could live and breathe as free people, where we could enjoy freedom from fear and want, where we could fashion our lives according to our religious and cultural values, and where the principles of Madina could be followed to create a just and prosperous society”.

Finance Minister Asad Umar appreciated Jinnah for his exceptional style, while Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry stressed that the Quaid firmly believed in the rule of law. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, members of his cabinet and Governor Imran Ismail also visited the mausoleum to reiterate their commitment to work for a prosperous Pakistan.

“Today is the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and we are at the Mazar-e-Quaid to pay him tributes and reiterate our commitment to maintain law and order, work in the health and education sectors and make Sindh a healthy, wealthy and peaceful province,” said the chief executive.

Talking to the media later, CM Shah said that since 2008-9 the provincial government has been giving subsidies on different items to encourage production and consumption. He said the government has provided subsidies to power plants to reduce the durations of load-shedding, on tractors to strengthen small farmers, of Rs12 on sugar cane and on wheat since a long time. Replying to a question about the recent target killing in Nazimabad, he said the incident is being thoroughly investigated and the culprits will be brought to book.

Change of guard

A contingent of cadets, including women, from the PMA Kakul mounted ceremonial guard at the Mazar-e-Quaid as part of the celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of the nation’s father, added our correspondents.

A spokesman for the ISPR said PMA Commandant Maj Gen Akhtar Nawaz reviewed the parade, laid a floral wreath, presented the salute and offered Fateha. The first passing out parade of the Academy was held on December 25, 1948. It was reviewed by the then Pakistan governor general Khawaja Nazimuddin who presented the Quaid-e-Azam banner to the champion company.

The PMA Kakul has the singular honour of being the only military institution designated as ‘Quaid-e-Azam’s Own’ by Jinnah as the colonel-in-chief of the Academy. The guard-mounting ceremony by PMA cadets is a regular annual feature to pay homage to the Father of the Nation.

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar also laid a floral wreath at the mausoleum. Talking to the media later, he paid tributes to Jinnah’s efforts to create a separate homeland for Muslims “where they could spend their lives in accordance with their own customs and traditions”. He urged the entire nation to work hard for the development of the country in their own respective individual capacities as well as collectively in line with the Quaid’s vision.