The nation has lost touch with the vision of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and is unaware of what he wanted the country to be.
These were the views expressed by the participants in a webinar on Quaid’s Vision of Pakistan and Responsibilities of a Common Citizen held under the auspices of the Pakistan Study Center (PSC), Punjab University, here on Friday. The webinar was held in connection with the 76th Independence Day celebrations of the country.
The webinar was attended by Prof. Dr. Farooq Ahmed Dar, Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Naumana Kiran, Director PSC, Associate Professors Dr. Amjad Abbas Khan Magsi, Dr. Ahmad Ejaz and others. In his keynote address, Dr. Farooq said that in the present time not only the elite but even the common people of Pakistan had totally forgotten what the father of the nation wanted the country to be. He said that a good look at historical sources clearly suggests that Jinnah wanted the process of institutionalization to take place in Pakistan and that the institutions and not individuals should take the driving seat.
As per Quaids vision, the state was to focus on the education, health and social welfare of its citizens and it was responsible for taking care of the marginalized segments of society. Religious and ethnic minorities were to be given fundamental rights and treated on an equal basis, he added. Dr Naumana said that Independence Day is the best time to evaluate ourselves, either we are fulfilling responsibilities or not. She said that Quaids vision of the common citizen is of actually a responsible person, who should be disciplined, determined, hardworking, faithful and fair towards their objectives and have faith in merit.
“Quaid-i-Azam believed in communal harmony and wanted Pakistani society to be plural and tolerant,” she added. Dr. Ahmad Ejaz was of the view that Pakistan’s dream was turned into reality by Quaid-i-Azam. He said that a separate state for the Indian Muslims was founded based on the two-nation theory. “Quaid emphasized on establishing a liberal and tolerant Islamic society, socio-economic justice, a participatory and democratic polity, constitutionalism, equality of opportunities irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sex, and opportunities for education and development of natural and inherent qualities of the people,” he maintained.
