People want leaders to build Pakistan

People whichever province they may belong to but feel proud of being Pakistani living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad for livelihood honorably say they don’t like politics based on self-interest. “We want to see our motherland rebuilt as impregnable welfare state as was envisaged by our elders who participated in the freedom struggle; all the time we consider ourselves soldiers dedicated to the defence of every inch of homeland.”

One wonders why old citizens insist most leaders have forgotten the Quaid-i-Azam’s mission and his vision of strong, prosperous, educated and well-defended Pakistan. Do they need to study the life and character of the architect of Pakistan? By the way, city’s ordinary man is in search of social and economic justice, he looks for a leader who can rescue him and concentrate on his welfare.

The Quaid believed in Islamic principles and democracy and advocated the cause of the poor.  He visualized people’s government. He conceived Pakistan based on the foundations of social justice and Islamic socialism which stress equality and brotherhood of man.

The architect of Pakistan was concerned with the problem of poverty and backwardness among Muslims for eradication of which they looked, on the one hand, to the urges of dynamism, struggle and creativity in Islam and, on the other, to Islamic principle of distributive justice

His speech at the 30th session of the Muslim League during the freedom struggle reflected his ideas. “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 in the real sense of the word as the Quaid did; rebuild our character as he defined and then implement his dream with a strong determination.” That will mean achieving the Pakistan visualized by hundreds of thousands who had sacrificed their lives and property. Again the question is: when will our leaders learn to improve their ways, behave and dedicate their will and energy to building a prosperous and very strong Pakistan?

—- zasarwar@hotmail.com